Coaches are fond of saying that defense wins championships. Naturally, it wins some games along the way, too. Last night against American, Penn supported the old adage, providing a backbone of play that allowed the Quakers to add one more win to its season total.

The last time the Penn field hockey team faced off against Delaware was in 2004. On its way to an Ivy League Championship, the Quakers pulled off a 2-1 thriller against the then 14th-ranked Blue Hens. Three years after Penn's historic season, it once again has its sights set on an upset.

Wet and wild - and for the Penn men's soccer team, a win as good as any other. Despite a sloppy first-half, an early deficit and pouring rain, the Quakers topped American 2-1 last night at Rhodes Field.

After starting the first three games of the season, it became clear that Robert Irvin's right shoulder had never fully recovered from offseason surgery, and now it looks like Irvin could be shelved for the remainder of the season.

This year's edition of The Line had everything Penn basketball - the fans, the Palestra, the cheerleaders - except for the team itself. The annual October event at which fans sleep overnight at the historic arena to get season tickets was held on Friday and Saturday last weekend, but none of the players or coaches made an official appearance.

Yale's Mike McLeod had an off game, by his standards, against Dartmouth on Saturday. The Ivy League's most dangerous offensive threat carried the ball 27 times for 155 yards and one touchdown in the Bulldogs' 50-10 thrashing of the Big Green, 33 yards short of his season average per game.

Penn unloaded an offensive onslaught on the hapless Hoyas, scoring five touchdowns before halftime with an ease that senior quarterback Bryan Walker credited to the offensive line setting the tempo and keeping the Georgetown pass-rush in check.

If you asked Marquise Liverpool in early 2004 where he thought he would be in three years, the Temple football practice facility at 11th and Diamond Streets wouldn't have even been a blip on the radar. If the multi-sport athlete out of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.

With the 1977 and 2002 Penn championship teams in town to be honored for their past achievements, the current Penn volleyball team gave the alumnae plenty to smile about. Friday, the Quakers swept Cornell, the defending champions, (30-28, 30-24, 30-26) and Columbia (30-9, 30-21, 30-21).

The field hockey team has hit .500. After a successful weekend, which saw wins over Lock Haven (3-2) and Bucknell (2-0), Penn may have turned a corner. "We came up to do what we said we wanted to do and we did it," head coach Val Cloud said. "Could we have played better? Of course, but we played well enough to win.

After leading the Quakers in scoring in each of the last two seasons, junior forward Mike Klein came into Saturday night's matchup against Columbia with no goals and only one assist through eight games. All of that changed in a hurry in the second half against the Lions.

It's official. The first 'W' is finally in the books for the Quakers. Penn's offense finally came together against Georgetown, converting on red-zone opportunities and snatching points turned down in games one through three. "It's something we needed to experience again," senior quarterback Bryan Walker said of the win.

No player on the Penn women's soccer roster has ever experienced a 2-0 start to the Ivy League season. That is, until Saturday, when the Quakers defeated Columbia in New York 2-1. In knocking off the defending conference champions, the Quakers (8-2-1, 2-0 Ivy) ended Columbia's (6-3-2, 1-1) eight-game unbeaten streak and extended a modest three-game winning streak of their own.

Georgetown was winless in the Patriot League last year. It was 0-5 coming into this weekend, and had lost its last two games by a combined score of 100-7. But a win is a win. Penn secured its first victory of the season with a 42-13 drubbing of the Hoyas that was never close.

Rarely does a struggling quarterback get removed from his play-calling duties only to re-enter the game as a punt returner. But that's exactly what happened on Saturday to Georgetown sophomore Robert Lane, who was chosen, over regular starter senior Matt Bassuener, to helm the Hoyas' rush-heavy attack.

Penn's quarterback picture has been muddied by injury and underperformance, but Harvard coach Tim Murphy won't even have a chance to make a decision on his signal-caller this weekend - and perhaps the rest of the season. Harvard (1-2, 1-0 Ivy) at Cornell (2-1, 0-1) Senior starter Liam O'Hagan is sidelined indefinitely with a dislocated shoulder.

Georgetown is a team that went winless in the Patriot League last year, coming into this weekend was 0-5 and had lost its last two games a combined 100-7. Still, a win is a win. The Quakers secured their first victory of the season with a 42-13 drubbing of the Hoyas that was never close.