PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania field hockey team travels to New Haven to continue its Ivy League schedule as the Quakers face Yale. Penn moved to 3-1 and sit alone in third place in the Ivy League standings after defeating Columbia at home last Friday, 2-0.
Penn closed out its non-conference schedule with a loss to No. 18 Delaware last Sunday.
This Weekend's Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 20
PENN (7-7), (3-1) at YALE (7-6), (2-2)
Noon | New Haven, Conn. | Live Stats | Watch
Around the Ivy League
Dartmouth (1-3) at Columbia (2-2), Friday at 2 p.m.
Harvard (4-0) at Princeton (4-0), Saturday at noon
Cornell (0-4) at Brown (0-4), Saturday at noon
The Ivy League on ESPN
Penn's game against Yale, as well as all home field hockey games and Ivy League away games, will be broadcast on ESPN+ as part of The Ivy League's new partnership with ESPN. ESPN+ is a new, subscription-based service that offers monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($49.99) plans. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+ and start your free trial! Click here for frequently asked questions about the Ivy League on ESPN.
Previewing Penn
*Penn has set up one of the toughest schedules in program history, with eight of its 17 games coming against opponents ranked in the current NFHCA Coaches poll. North Carolina (No. 1), Princeton (No. 3), Iowa (No. 7), Harvard (No. 9), Saint Joseph's (No. 12), Wake Forest (No. 14), Syracuse (No. 15), and Delaware (No. 18) have all received votes as of the Oct. 16 edition of the rankings.
*Penn returns seven starters and 17 letter winners from the 2017 squad and welcome nine freshmen to the roster in 2018. Among the returners are two All-Ivy selections: senior Paige Meily and junior Alexa Schneck. Both players are two-time All-Ivy selections.
*Schneck leads the Quakers in all offensive categories. She has 18 points from seven goals and four assists this season. She has 14 goals and 10 assists for her career. Schneck has seven career game-winning goals after scoring the winner in a 3-2 2OT victory against Dartmouth on Oct. 6.
*Senior Rachel Mirkin has posted her best goal-scoring season with Penn, tallying three goals. Two of those goals were game-winners, in a 1-0 2OT victory over No. 14 Wake Forest on Aug. 31 and a 2-1 win over Villanova on Sept. 7. Mirkin has two career game-winning goals at Penn.
*Freshman Madison Jiranek scored her first collegiate goal, opening the scoring in Penn's 2-0 victory over Columbia last Friday.
*Penn's team captains this year include Meily, Schneck, and senior Sofia Palacios.
*Meily has three assists this season and ranks second on the team. Meily tallied five assists in her junior year and seven in her sophomore year, a total of 15 for her career. She scored the first goal of her career against Drexel on Sept. 16, converting on a penalty stroke.
*Palacios registered her first points of the season, providing the assist to Schneck's game winner against Dartmouth on Oct. 6. Palacios has nine goals and six assists in her Penn career.
*Freshman forward Julia Russo scored her first goal for Penn against No. 12 Syracuse on Sept 23. She ranks second on the team with 24 shots.
*Sophomore Erin Kelly scored her third goal of the season and fourth of her career against Lafayette on Oct. 8. Kelly ranks second in goals scored and points (8) for the Quakers.
*Junior Ava Rosati established herself as Penn's starting goalkeeper midway through last season. She has four shutouts this season, five in her career, and has made 54 saves over 14 games this season. She ranks third in the Ivy League for average goals allowed (1.72)
Assessing the Opponent: Yale
Yale enters its game against Penn with a 2-2 Ivy League record and a 7-6 overall record. The Bulldogs have posted wins over Cornell and Dartmouth, and both losses have come to those at the top of the Ivy standings, Harvard and Princeton.
Saturday's game will mark the 43rd meeting between Yale and Penn. The Quakers lead 27-13-2 and have won five of the last six games against the Bulldogs. Two of those games have gone to overtime, with Yale winning in 2016 and Penn winning on strokes in 2013.
#FightOnPenn
