Stickwomen Shine, Quiet Quakers, 2-1

The Crimson field hockey team continues to impress.

The stickwomen earned their third win in the last four outings Saturday at Soldiers Field when they defeated a strong Penn squad, 2-1. The win confirmed what early games hinted--the Crimson has as good a shot as any at winning the Ivy League title.

Pennsylvania entered the game a highly-regarded squad, and dominated the early going. But that was it.

The Crimson drew first blood with 18:30 remaining in the first half when Elaine Kellogg placed a Sue Field corner, and Chris Sailer rapped it past Penn goalie Sally Weaver. The Quakers played defensive hockey the rest of they way.

Pressure

The Crimson exerted the usual pressure on the Penn defense, but again failed to capitalize on several opportunities. After one particularly frenzied Harvard offensive, the Quakers caught the Crimson defense off guard and Lisa Romig netted the equalizer with 2:46 remaining in the first half.

The Crimson bounced back, however, and notched the gamewinner with 14:50 to go in the game. The two women who have carried the offense this season once again teamed up for a score, as Kate Martin hit the back of the net off a Sue Field pass.

Martin had entered the game just minutes earlier, replacing Annie MacMillan, who started at centerforward. Coach Edie MacAusland moved MacMillan, normally a back, to the front line to inject some hard-nosed play around the net.

"My idea is to be flexible," said MacAusland. "We want to play out our own system, yes, but also to be able to adapt to other teams."

The experiment worked for the most part. MacMillan helped the stickwomen force the play into the Quakers' end, but Martin's speed was sorely missed up front.

Junior goalie Betty Ippolito continues to improve. She has enjoyed a standout season thus far and is the reason the Crimson have not felt the brunt of occasional defensive disorganization.

Junior goalie Betty Ippolito continues to improve. She has enjoyed a standout season thus far and is the reason the Crimson have not felt the brunt of occasional defensive disorganization.

When Ippolito was caught out of position, the defense backed her up. Sara LeBlond saved two goals with fine plays around the net.

The Crimson still has some problems, but at this stage of the game, the stickwomen appear to have fewer problems than their oppostion.