Quakers' nails get a little shorter

Sophomore Garvey Heiderman backed down his defender around the right side of Yale's goal, turned back to his left and ripped a shot past George Carafides late in the second overtime, as Penn hung on to beat the Elis, 10-9.

Heiderman's goal saved a second-half collapse by the Quakers, who led 7-4 at halftime. Penn pushed the lead to four after a solid defensive play forced a Yale turnover four minutes into the third period. David Cornbrooks picked up a loose ball in the defensive end, and with no Elis player within 10 yards, Cornbrooks ran the length of the field before finding the back of the cage from 12 yards out.

Chris Casey started in goal for the Quakers for the second game in a row. The freshman replaced senior Greg Klossner during the second half of Penn's game against Bucknell on March 6 and has played every minute since.

"For right now, [Casey is] our starting goalie," head coach Brian Voelker said. "He's a little bit of a different goalie than Greg Klossner. I think Greg would tend to make the spectacular save and even on his good days was a little up and down, a little roller coaster. I think Chris is a little bit steadier and that is probably one of the main reasons we have made the change."

Casey had eight saves on 33 Elis shots on goal.

Yale's comeback chances seemed to take a big hit after attackman Tyler Casertano, who led the Elis in points coming into the game, appeared to hurt his right ankle late in the first half. Casertano assisted on Yale's goal with 23 seconds left in the second period to bring the Elis within three goals.

However, the junior struggled to the bench after the halftime buzzer sounded. He received treatment during the break and tried to start the second half but was limping visibly. Casertano left the game after the Elis' man-advantage to start the third period.

After the game, Elis head coach Andy Shay did not disclose the extent of Casertano's injury, which forced the Elis to move sophomore Michael Karwoski from midfield to attack.

It was "one less really good player on the field, so it hurts. It hurt us quite a bit," Shay said.

Penn's defense, which Voelker had been unhappy with in recent games, performed well against a high-powered Yale offense that likes to spread the field. The Quakers made it a priority to limit the effectiveness of Yale's behemoth attackman, Kyle Washabaugh, who is 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds. Washabaugh had no points yesterday.

"Our defense isn't really the type that gets out after you, that gets in your hands, tries to take take-away checks, instead we like to keep it tight," defenseman Matt Kelleher said. "When they spread out it makes it a lot easier on us."

The game, which was the inaugural Ivy League contest of the season, was postponed from Saturday until Sunday due to the Nor'easter that ripped through Philadelphia on Friday evening.

But by noon Sunday, Franklin Field was clear of snow and a clear, blue sky made the weather a non-factor. And after the layoff, Penn barely skipped a beat.

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