Stickwomen Top Penn, 4-1, Remain Unbeaten in Ivies

Staying in the plush accomodations of the Trevose, PA Hilton could have provided the opportunity for Harvard's field hockey team to kick backand enjoy each other's company. Instead, the team bonding on this trip took the form of a very focused 4-1 victory over Penn on Saturday morning.

Harvard had held an evening practice at Penn's Franklin Field on Friday night. The workout, which shook off eight hours of bus-lag, sharpened the Crimson (4-1-1 overall, 1-0-1 Ivy) for a crucial match against the perennially tough Quakers.

Penn, however, began the game playing like it had spent the night cramped on a Greyhound bus, not on the field on which it has a 23-6-3 all-time mark.

The Crimson quickly took advantage of the Quaker's hesitancy. The Crimson offense rattled off 21 shots, the same total it compiled against Springfield last Wednesday, but this time it converted four of them into goals. Harvard's goalie, Lisa Yadao, was forced to make only six saves.

Harvard, which had been concerned about Penn's quickness on turf, was suprised to find them so flat.

"Recently, they've beaten a nationally-ranked team and crushed Dartmouth, 6-1, so maybe they were riding too high," said back Amy Belisle. "They weren't distributing their passes well, but we were a part of that--our defense just stopped their fowards."

Senior Loren Ambinder started the scoring for the Crimson at 25:20 of the first half. She positioned herself perfectly to chip in the rebound of a Kristen Fowler corner shot and put the Crimson ahead for good, 1-0.

The Crimson's well-balanced attack forced the Penn defense into making errors, which the Crimson capitalized on with an impressive corner display.

Harvard struck for the second time when it converted another corner less than three minutes later. This time it was Co-Captain Fowler's shot that found its way directly into the right side of the net.

Ten minutes into the second half, Harvard continued its excellent corner execution. Co-Captain Ceci Clark blocked the ball as Fowler lofted a shot which settled neatly into the right top corner of the net.

"Teams have to concentrate on stopping us outside the 25-yard line, because we have some people who can really shoot the ball," said Coach Sue Caples. "Emily [Buxton] and Francie [Walton], and Ceci and Kristen are two powerful batteries. Also, Loren's practiced a thousand hits out to the circle."

On the Move

For the remainder of the second half, Harvard continued its solid transition game. Penn managed to limit Harvard's attack to the left and middle side of the field, but within that area the Crimson moved the ball well.

"We're a combination team that makes small passes and they play a similiar style," said Fowler. "We're confident that we can outplay any team of that style, and we did get them out of their rhythm."

With 16 minutes remaining in the game, Harvard added another goal. Ambinder rushed down the right side, carried it into the circle and shuttled it to sophomore Sarah Downing at the stroke mark, who nailed it into the net. The goal was Downing's first collegiate tally and gave Harvard an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Penn had a little flurry near the game's end and spoiled Yadao's shutout attempt with a goal on a penalty stroke.

"This is a good base to continue to build off of," Caples said. "This is the first time we've put together 70 solid and focused minutes."