Field Hockey drops two as offense stalls

The Penn field hockey team dropped their first two decisions of the 2002 season in a pair of close contests this weekend at Franklin Field.

On Friday night, The Red and Blue fell to University City rival Drexel, 4-3. They dropped their Ivy League opener to Harvard, 4-2, yesterday afternoon.

Though the Quakers (0-2, 0-1 Ivy League) showed some limited improvement on offense from last season, both games were largely the defensive dogfights that came to characterize that campaign.

"We're scoring goals this year," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "I think we'll score more as the season goes on, but we are creating opportunities right now and I think we're a threat."

Against Drexel, the Quakers drew first blood as a Cecelia Carriquiry goal opened the scoring at 11:08. Five minutes later, Drexel's Kristina Burbich tied the game off a nifty Kristina Backenstose pass.

The Dragons (3-2 after yesterday's game) asserted control of the game in the second half. Junior Caliann Bogovic put the visitors ahead for good with an unassisted score at the 24:35 mark. Then it was the co-captain Backenstose, who scored twice in a four-minute span to secure a 4-1 advantage for the Dragons.

Jakobowski and junior Jackie Lange each scored in the last five minutes as Penn frantically worked to come back, but the Quakers ran out of time.

"We needed to take quicker better shots," junior midfielder Courtney Blenhim said. "It just wasn't clicking today -- we can play better."

In yesterday's league opener, Penn experienced the same problems that stalled their offense against the Dragons -- yet still put themselves in a position to win the game in the second half.

Harvard junior Philomena Gambale put the Crimson (2-0, 1-0) on the board at the eight-minute mark, scoring off an Elizabeth Andrews pass. But the sophomore Carriquiry answered with her second goal of the season, tying the game at one goal apiece.

Harvard took over in the second half, dominating play and keeping the Quakers pinned in their defensive third of the field.

Quaker coach Val Cloud's timeout with 23:01 remaining seemed to revitalize her floundering side. Just minutes later, the home team broke through. Lange put home a wide Jakobowski shot and Penn led, 2-1.

But the Crimson responded with vigor.

Just two minutes later, Gambale deposited the equalizer -- her second tally of the day. Then, the Crimson's Eliza Dick scored on a Gambale shot that flew past goalie Amanda Jacobs. With 11:48 to go, Elizabeth Andrews added an insurance goal, putting Harvard up by a pair and closing out the scoring.

Cloud quickly dismissed any notion that the Quakers altered their game strategy after Lange's goal put them ahead of the Crimson.

"No. We play to score, in any situation," she said.

The three unanswered scores came within a six-minute span, and effectively shut the door on the home team.

Reflecting on her team's opening weekend, Cloud spoke of the need to develop an improved chemistry within her offensive unit.

"I think we'll score more if we can be more cohesive between the forwards and the middies," Cloud said. "We've got a lot of quickness, ball skills, and foot speed in terms of changing direction, and that's what you need in there. I think sometimes we just need a little more composure to finish.

"We need that communication between the two lines in order to sustain our attack, to keep the ball down there."

Of the freshman goalie Jacobs, who performed admirably in her first two games as a Quaker, Cloud was pleased.

"She's got a great, competitive attitude. I think she really understands that this is a tough position to be in. These kids are going from high school on grass to college on turf.

"It's a lot quicker and faster. She's doing a great job for us, but it's just hard to win against somebody like Harvard that's got an all-Ivy goalkeeper."

Penn travels to Easton, Pa., on Wednesday for a bout with Lafayette College.

The Leopards notched a pair of 4-3 victories over Stanford and Cornell this weekend, extending their current winning streak to four.

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