For Quakers, results not Catamount

On certain days, winning isn't everything.

Yesterday was one of those days for the Penn field hockey team.

"It was a good-feel day knowing that we did play well," coach Val Cloud said of her team's 3-2 loss to New Hampshire.

"We just didn't win."

The Quakers did win Saturday, however, shutting out Vermont, 1-0, in the first of two games at the Sheraton Catamount Classic in Burlington, Vt.

Abigail Egan scored the game's only goal and Penn goalkeeper Kieran Sweeney made four saves for her first shutout of the season.

"Coming up with a shutout and a win was good for … our confidence," Cloud said.

Yesterday, sophomore midfielder Kirstin Snyder provided the offense, as she knocked in two corner goals assisted by senior Sarah Warner.

"It just happened; it was really nice," she said of her two goals. "I just tried to get a touch on it, and I got a touch on it on both corner opportunities."

But the offensive star of the game was not wearing red and blue. New Hampshire's Meg Shea scored two goals, but it was her second one that came with 1:59 left in the game that broke the 2-2 tie for good.

Cloud called the game-winner "controversial" because "it was off of a corner, and we thought it was a little high and dangerous."

Nevertheless, the Wildcats (3-2) were a tough match for the Quakers (2-3), who knew they had their work cut out for them before the game even began.

"We weren't really expected to win, so we kind of went in with an attitude to just give it your all," Snyder said. "And I think we did much better than we thought we would … and we were happy with the outcome because it was really close."

The Red and Blue entered the weekend seeking an offensive boost, specifically hoping to draw more corners and capitalize on them. According to Cloud, they followed through.

"We're developing at the offensive circle," she said. "We executed our corners very well, and we're not giving up as many corners on the defensive end."

But in the end, New Hampshire was just too much to handle on offense. The Wildcats outshot Penn, 18-7, and took nine shots on goal to the Quakers' two.

Saturday, even though the Catamounts (1-5) took twice as many shots on goal as Penn did - four to two - the Quakers' defense pulled through to secure the low-scoring victory over the tournament hosts.

"The last half we kept our composure, and they barely got any corners," Warner said of her defensive unit. "Team defense really stepped up."

Warner also had a great weekend on offense, assisting on all three of the Red and Blue's goals in Vermont.

According to the Quakers, this weekend was a unanimous success - perhaps just what the doctor ordered, as they begin their Ivy League season Friday against undefeated Cornell at Franklin Field.

"We played a very good team," Cloud said. "I felt we rose to the occasion."

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