by TOM UTESCHER

On November 3, in the 2003 field hockey season finale for both teams, Caroline Snite's goal late in the second half gave host Penn Charter a 1-0 victory over visiting Norwood Fontbonne Academy.

Doubling their win production with the successful outcome in the non-league contest, the Quakers closed out their season with a record of 2-3-3. Norwood leveled out at 5-5-1, after coming in fourth in the Girls Catholic Academies League and falling in the semifinals to eventual league champion Gwynedd Mercy.

Penn Charter, coached by Springside School alum Hannah Jacoby (now a sixth grade teacher at PC), earned the first corner hit in the game with Norwood, but the Quakers didn't get off a shot. The Bears made a few rushes down the right wing that were spearheaded by Colleen McNamara, but they too were unable to score and it was still 0-0 at halftime.

NFA's Lorrie Beppel dribbled the ball into the Charter circle early in the second 20-minute period, and later a Quaker defender had to stretch out to block a shot by Caroline Holmes of the visitors. As the game entered the final ten minutes, the home team began to carry the play to the other end of the field, getting a strong effort in the midfield from the determined Alibra Johnson.

The one successful scoring play of the day began with a corner hit sent out from the left endline by Louisa Oakes, the only seventh grader in the Penn Charter line-up. Snite smacked the ball back the other way and into the cage with 4:18 remaining in the contest. After that the Quakers pressed up again in search of an insurance goal, but a good effort by Marybeth Dougherty and other Norwood defenders limited the final margin to a single point.