Saving their best for last

What a difference a half-season makes.

After a disappointing 3-7 start, the field hockey team has pounded out six straight victories to ensure at least a share of second place in the Ivy League. Although Princeton has wrapped up the title, the Quakers look to end the season on a high note against the Tigers on Friday.

But regardless of the week's result, players say this Penn squad has a lot to be proud of.

"I think the team has come full circle," senior captain Liz Schlossberg said. "Our team chemistry is exactly where it should be."

And while it is bittersweet, the Quakers are proud that they were able build that elusive chemistry.

Assistant coach Jeremy Cook noticed the players' commitment to the team's philosophy.

"I'm very, very proud of them for sticking with it and for believing in what they were doing," Cook said.

While that commitment and effort may have been there all season long, the change in results was rather abrupt.

The results of Penn's first 10 games put the turnaround in perspective. The Quakers started the season by getting shut out in their first three contests. A fourth shutout would follow, in a 3-0 dismantling by No. 8 Penn State. The 3-7 Quakers' wins - against Harvard, Lafayette and Rutgers - were by no means dominant. And their two Ivy League losses, both 2-1 heartbreakers, seemed to signal a dismal season for the Quakers.

But that second loss in New Haven, Conn., lit a spark. Since the game on Sept. 30, Penn has not lost. It has scored at least three goals in four of six games and shut down Brown in a tough 1-0 decision last Sunday.

Penn also learned how to win grind-it-out games. One-goal victories against Columbia and Yale were hard-earned and boosted the morale of the team. The team's post-game attitude in New Haven seemed to foreshadow an eventual upset over Brown.

Their record, now standing at 9-7 (4-2 Ivy), is impressive.

But with all the recent success, the Quakers cannot help but wonder: What if?

If Penn had played this well in the beginning of the season, it would be very possible that Friday's showdown could have been for the league title.

"It brings up the old 'shoulda-woulda-coulda,'" Cook said. "We got here; we just got here too late."

The matchup with Princeton should be a good barometer of how much the team has truly grown. The Tigers are undefeated in Ivy play; Penn can take some consolation in the fact it did not surrender the Ivy title to an inferior team.

After Friday, the Quakers will begin to look toward next year. Penn loses five seniors, including All-Ivy goalkeeper, Schlossberg and team point leader Tracy Statter. While the losses will be significant, the momentum of the second half of this season should benefit next year's Quakers.

Next season "is going to be great," Cook said.

Penn will try its best to make sure it is the whole season next time.

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