PHILADELPHIA – Another tough weekend slate awaits the University of Pennsylvania field hockey team as they return home for a pair of matches at Ellen Vagelos Field. On Friday, Penn takes on Yale in an Ivy League showdown, while No. 10 Syracuse comes to town on Sunday for the penultimate non-conference game of the year.
 
Sunday will serve as Youth Day and fans are asked to dress up in their favorite Halloween costume! The first 100 youth in attendance will also receive a free t-shirt.

GAME INFORMATION
PENN (6-6, 2-2) vs. YALE (7-5, 1-3)
Fri., October 20 | 3 p.m. | Ellen Vagelos Field | Live Stats – Ivy League Network
 
PENN (6-6, 2-2) vs. #10 SYRACUSE (11-4, 2-4)
Sun., October 22 | 1 p.m. | Ellen Vagelos Field | Live Stats – Ivy League Network

NEWS AND NOTES: YALE
*The Quakers and Elis meet for the 42nd time in series history with Penn holding a 26-13-2 advantage in the all-time matchups. Yale won the 2016 outing in overtime, 3-2, but Penn claimed the previous four contests dating back to 2012.
 
*Yale has won three of its last four games and has scored an average of 4.5 goals in each of those last four contests. Their 3.08 goals per game ranks second in the league and their total of 37 teams tallies is the most since the 2013 season. Senior Carol Middough leads the team with 14 goals and 30 points.
 
NEWS AND NOTES: SYRACUSE
*Penn welcomes No. 10 Syracuse to Philadelphia for the first time since the 2002 season on Sunday in the penultimate non-conference game of the season. The Quakers are 0-4 all-time against the Orange and fell in the renewed rivalry last season at Syracuse, 0-4.
 
*The Orange have been ranked weekly in 107-straight NFHCA Coaches Polls dating back to the 2008 season and are currently sixth in the ACC team standings. They currently ranks first in the NCAA with 10 shutouts this year.   

NEWS AND NOTES: PENN
*The Quakers became City 6 champs for the second straight year last weekend to improve to 3-0 on the season against their Philadelphia opponents. The Red and Blue came from behind to post a 4-2 victory over Temple for the unofficial championship.
 
*Penn has won four of their last six contests on the season and have outscored their opponents by a 12-8 margin during that span. They're currently in fourth place at 2-2 in the Ivy League standings behind Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia.

*Senior Alexa Hoover leads the team with eight goals and five assists for 21 points. Alexa Schneck and Gina Guccione are both second on the squad with four goals and one assist each.  

*The NCAA released their fifth RPI standings of the season earlier this week and the Ivy League is well represented as one of the best conferences in the country. The Quakers clock in at No. 27 just behind Princeton (14) and Harvard (19). As a league, the Ancient Eight has the third most teams in the top-25, behind only the ACC and Big Ten.
 
*Penn has set up one of their toughest schedules in program history for the 2017 slate that includes seven of their 17 matches against teams ranked in the top-25 of the NFHCA Coaches poll. North Carolina (#5), Syracuse (#10), Delaware (#11), Princeton (#14), Harvard (#15), Rutgers (#21), and Iowa (#25) and have all received votes as of the Oct. 17 edition of the rankings.

*Several freshmen have seen significant game action in the beginning of their careers. Reese Vogel and Erin Quinn have cracked the starting lineup while six have seen game action through 12 contests.  
 
*The Red and Blue have a bevy of home games for fans to attend this season with 10 matches slated to take place at Ellen Vagelos Field. Several marketing events were announced in conjunction with the Quakers home games this season and as always, admission to Penn Field Hockey games is FREE! Can't make it to Vagelos Field? Buy a subscription to the Ivy League Network today!

*The Quakers return nine starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2016 squad and welcome seven freshmen to the roster in 2017. Additionally, three All-Ivy honorees are set to return to the pitch: senior Alexa Hoover (First Team), junior Paige Meily (Second Team), and sophomore Alexa Schneck (Second Team). Hoover and Schneck received NFHCA All-Region accolades while Hoover was also chosen as a Second Team All-American following a year where she became Penn's all-time leader in goals and points.

*Penn announced that a trio of seniors have been selected to captain the squad for the 2017 season: Alexa Hoover, Rachel Huang, and Jasmine Li. The Red and Blue senior class made up of Gina Guccione, Alexa Hoover, Jasmine Li, Rachel Huang, and Liz Mata have combined for a total of 90 goals and 42 assists