Field Hockey faces No. 6 Delaware

The field hockey team will have a tough time avenging last season's 1-0 loss against national power Delaware. On October 6, 1997, Delaware's Megan Fortunato was dancing around Franklin Field in glory. And the Penn field hockey team couldn't bear to watch. Throughout regulation, Penn goaltender Sarah Dunn was like a mirror in net, deflecting shots at all angles. But in the seven-on-seven overtime, Fortunato broke away with a loose ball and fired a shot with vertex beyond Dunn's reach. The goal shattered into the net, as Delaware marched away 1-0 victors. According to Penn coach Val Cloud, it was the best game her team had played all season. The Quakers took a season-high 17 shots on goal. Sadly, Blue Hens' goalie Kelly Adams vacuumed up all 17. "With a goalie of that ability we need to have our forwards in the right position to tip in the goals, drawing the corners in," Penn co-captain Audrey Heinel said. "At that level, we need to be in the right position to capitalize." A year to the day later, Penn (3-3, 2-1 Ivy League) travels to Delaware's David Nelson Athletic Complex, seeking vengeance on the Blue Hens (10-1). A win, however, won't prove easy --EDelaware has emerged as the No. 6 ranked team in the nation. Even though Fortunato, the sophomore midfielder who scored that overtime goal, has silenced into her team's 13th leading scorer, Blue Hens coach Carol Miller has seen others emerge as deadly threats. Case in point: Delaware senior Jodi Byrd leads her team with 10 goals. While, Penn -- as a team -- has just 10. Blue Hens' senior Kelly Cawley has 12 assists, more than the Quakers' aggregate sum. And Delaware's Rachel Barger has eight goals and four assists in 11 games. Plus, all 13 active Blue Hens have scored a goal this season. These statistics indicate only one thing -- Delaware is simply good. In addition to emerging as an offensive machine, Adams has done her part, saving 90.7 percent of shots on goal. The Blue Hens have not only defeated their opponents but gone a step further and beat up on them -- winning 8-0 against Lehigh, 6-0 over Ursinus, 5-0 versus Hofstra and Temple, and 4-0 against Vermont. Almost makes the Red and Blue's 3-0 shutout of Ursinus look like child's play. But Penn is an Ivy League school; Dunn and company have long-term memories. "Delaware is always a game we get up for, " Heinel said. "Especially this year." Even if disappointment from Fortunato's seven-on-seven goal has waned, Saturday's 2-1 overtime loss against Harvard refreshed the taste of a near-victory, slipped out of reach. A year later, the Quakers finally have a chance for redemption. The scene has been set. But the Blue Hens wait on the opposite side, armed in hand with names like Adams, Barger, Byrd and Cawley. And a Trump card in the No.6 national ranking.

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