GETTING A KICK OUT OF WINNING

Photo

Brittny Humphrey

By Pete Mollica

Penguins trying for first-ever three-game winning streak

11The Penguins will entertain Detroit in a 4 p.m. contest at Stambaugh Stadium in their Horizon League opener.

The Penguins (2-6) are coming into the contest on a two-game winning streak, a total that equals their longest win streak in school history and has already equaled their best win total in the past seven seasons.

Coach Anthony James, in his fifth season, is excited about the team’s outlook this season.

“This team has really started to come together in these last two games,” James said. “We’ve played pretty well all season and five of our losses have been decided by a single goal. With a break here or there we could very easily have been 7-1 instead of 2-6.”

Friday’s contest will be the team’s third home contest and the first two could have gone the other way. They dropped a 1-0 decision against Kent State and a 3-2 game to Akron.

“These last two wins have really improved the team’s confidence and they are playing like a team with confidence,” James added.

The Penguins have five seniors on this year’s team, including former Liberty High standout Brittny Humphrey, and Carrie Wack of Harmony, Pa., who last year earned All-Horizon League second team honors.

Humphrey, who has one goal this year and six in her career, is back this year after missing all of 2007 with a knee injury and took her redshirt season. Now in her fifth season with the Penguins, the 5-foot-9 forward says she relatively healthy.

“I’ve had problems with both my knees since I was in high school, but never had any surgery until my sophomore season here,” Humphrey said. “Right now I feel pretty good, at least the knees do.”

Humphrey said the key to the team’s recent success has been their ability to finally come together as a team.

“We’ve been playing as a team these last two games,” she said. “Before that we were out there and playing hard, but not together like we are right now.

“This is a good team and there’s a lot of talent here and if we continue to play like we are right now it should turn into a pretty good season,” she added.

Wack, who leads the Penguins in scoring with three goals, is excited about opening league play.

The former Seneca Valley High standout is back to playing at forward and enjoying it.

“It’s always great to be playing at home and because this is our conference opener it is even more special,” Wack said.

Both Humphrey and Wack had high praise for the team’s goalkeeper, junior Mariah Snyder, who has made 54 saves in eight games.

“She has really stepped it up this year, in fact our entire defense has really stepped it up,” said Wack.

“Mariah has just been amazing this year,” added Humphrey.

Following Friday’s contest, the Penguins will not be back at home until Oct. 10 when they play host to UW-Green Bay in a 7 p.m. contest. That will be the first of three straight home contests as Milwaukee will follow Oct. 12 and Wheeling Jesuit will play here Oct. 17.

mollica@vindy.com