Touting team unity, Quakers finally end their seven-game slide

At the end of Saturday's game with Harvard, all members of the women's field hockey team lined up and belted out "Drink a Highball," smiles blazing from ear to ear. It was as if they had just won an Ivy League championship.

This victory was indeed stirring. Mired in a seven game losing streak which began on Sept. 6, the Quakers came out with a swagger and topped the Crimson, 2-0, at Franklin Field.

The Red and Blue had a simple, time-tested strategy: execute as a single unit.

"Everybody was really there for each other on the field, and I haven't seen that," coach Val Cloud said. "Usually, it was an individual on the field who had nobody to play with, basically."

This newfound unity arose from the unlikeliest of places. On Wednesday, the team faced a highly regarded Villanova squad and, despite losing, matched it stride for stride.

"I think they gained confidence from Wednesday night, which was confidence that they could play with the big dogs," Cloud said.

Senior co-captain Margaretha Ehret, scorer of Penn's second goal on a fast break in the second half, agreed.

"In the last game we were all working hard, but as individuals," she said. "In this game, although it wasn't our best hockey, everyone was just working together."

Sophomore Laurel McGarvie, who scored the Quakers' first goal, attributed the success against Harvard to having more intensity and more enthusiasm.

"We're more upbeat," she said. "We've really amped up our practices, which has definitely paid off."

McGarvie's goal came on a penalty opportunity in the middle of the first half. With Harvard outnumbered and backed up against its own goal post, Ehret passed the ball to McGarvie, who posted up and delivered a strike between the goalposts.

The Quakers are hoping to build off this success with the same team-first mentality.

"We didn't play well together until last Wednesday," Cloud said. "So if we can keep this up, we'll be a force to be reckoned with."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.