Cloud trades a 'D' for extra middie

After a lot of tinkering, field hockey coach Val Cloud may have finally found her secret ingredient for success.

Last Sunday against Columbia, Penn (3-10, 2-2 Ivy) moved a defender up to play midfielder. With the 3-4-2 scheme, the Red and Blue responded by playing with more cohesion and coming up with a rare victory.

Tonight at Franklin Field, the Quakers hope that this new strategy continues to turn up gold for them against Temple (7-9).

"I feel like I have a lot more people around me helping me get the ball back when we lose it," senior Margaretha Ehret, a midfielder, said of the new setup.

The more aggressive pressure of four midfielders allows the Quakers to create more scoring chances, while keeping the ball within the offensive end. The key to this gameplan, however, is for the midfielders to play both sides of the ball.

"People I had as the inside midfielders played a significant amount of defense," Cloud said of the Columbia match.

With less support on the defensive side, the midfielders can't afford to get trapped upfield. Likewise, it puts more of an onus on the shorthanded defenders to keep the ball out of the goal.

"We were so frustrated because we weren't scoring that we were willing to sacrifice that extra pressure to get back," junior defender Sarah Warner said.

This new strategy will be tested to its limit against Temple, which has won three out of its last four games. Led by Junior Charise Young's 23 points, the Owls are averaging 2.06 goals per game, which is over a half a goal more than the Quakers' output.

Warner, however, feels confident that the Quakers have what it takes to stop Young and the Temple offense.

"We've played Maryland - we're used to tough teams," Warner said. "Whoever is picking her up, we're all ready for it, and I think we're disciplined enough for anyone to pick her up."

Following an impressive victory over the nine-win Lions, Penn does not want to repeat what happened earlier this season. After defeating Harvard three weeks ago, the Quakers came out overconfident, according to Warner, and ended with a disappointing 3-2 loss to Dartmouth.

Cloud believes that the same thing will not happen this time against Temple.

"My team is at the point that they're tired of losing," she said.

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