F. Hockey follows up on guarantee

A key Ivy League match. A victory guaranteed. A victory delivered.

After senior Nikki Battiste guaranteed a Quakers victory on Thursday, the Penn field hockey team went out and got the job done, defeating Yale, 2-1, in overtime at Franklin Field Saturday evening.

The match marked Penn's fourth straight OT contest in the Ancient Eight, and the third which was won on a goal off the stick of junior midfielder Kylee Jakobowski.

"It's much more open," Jakobowski said about the overtime period, where only 16 people take the field, as opposed to 22. "[There's] more space to move around, it's a totally different feel."

While Jakobowski stole the spotlight on Saturday, scoring the game-winner 1:15 into overtime, it was Battiste who stole the pregame headlines with a gutsy victory guarantee.

"Losing is never an option for us," the co-captain declared prior to the game.

However, early on it looked as if Penn (5-8 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) would have trouble staying in the game, let alone achieving a win.

Yale (6-7, 0-4) peppered sophomore goalie Carrie Wilhelm with shots early, each of which she stopped en route to a six-save performance. Most importantly, she shut the Elis out in the first half while the Quakers struggled.

The sophomore has not allowed more than one goal in each of her last six games.

"It's not just me," Wilhelm said. "The defense is working well as a unit."

Penn coach Val Cloud similarly spread the credit around.

"It's a tribute to the 'D' as well," Cloud said. "And she's [Carrie] not giving up much.

Senior co-captain Monique Horshaw opened up the scoring with a blast from the top of the circle five minutes into the second half. The shot came off of a well-executed penalty corner.

Barely a minute later, however, the Elis struck back. On a penalty corner at the other end, Caroline Thompson slapped a shot past Wilhelm knotting the score at one.

Giving up goals after scoring is a problem that has plagued the Quakers all season.

"It's more mental than anything," Battiste said. "The three to five minutes after a goal are crucial because it's natural to have a letdown."

Penn could not capitalize on a chance to untie the game, failing to convert a penalty corner with less than one minute to go.

But that miss would only set the stage for more Jakobowski overtime magic.

A mere 1:15 into OT, Jakobowski scored from the right side off a pass from Horshaw.

"We've learned a lot from past experience," Jakobowski said. "That's why we have the confidence [to win in overtime]."

Penn, which failed to win a league game last year, is now in third place in the Ivies and will play the top two Ancient Eight teams -- Harvard and Princeton -- at home.

"Anything can happen," Cloud said. "We have more confidence with every game."

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