PHILADELPHIA - Ranked 12th in the latest IWLCA top-25, the University of Pennsylvania women's lacrosse team will round out its three-game road swing to start the season on Wednesday night, making a trek to The Garden State to face Big Ten foe Rutgers at 7 p.m.

Series History
Penn and Rutgers have played 20 times, dating back to 1994, with the series locked dead even at 10-10. The Quakers have been in control of late, winning each of the last five meetings between the two schools. The Quakers and Scarlet Knights have faced off each of the last eight seasons, trading home-and-homes. 

High Rankings, High Expectations
The Quakers entered 2019 ranked 10th in the preseason IWLCA poll and have moved to 12th after early week shuffling. Additionally, Penn started the year No. 7 nationally in the Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Poll, and has slid up to sixth after the first two weeks of play. The Quakers checked in at No. 13 in the Inside Lacrosse preseason top-20 and are now number eight. 

Quakers Sweep Weekly Awards
Penn posted a clean sweep of the Ivy League weekly awards following its 11-10 overtime win at Johns Hopkins, as Gabby Rosenzweig earned Offensive Player of the Week, while Mikaila Cheeseman was named Defensive Player of the Week. Rosenzweig led Penn's offense at JHU, recording seven points on three goals and four assists, playing a part in four of Penn's final five scores. Cheeseman helped Penn hang around long enough to take the lead, finishing with 12 saves. 

Good Times in Overtime
The Quakers are fresh off a dramatic victory in overtime over the weekend, defeating No. 17 Johns Hopkins 11-10 in Baltimore. The win was Coach Karin Corbett's 53rd victory over a ranked opponent, as Penn rallied from down two in the second half, holding the Bluejays scoreless for nearly 22 minutes to take the lead, before winning on a free position goal from Barry in the extra period.

Dominating Start
Penn opened the season with a thorough performance on the road at Delaware, taking down the Blue Hens 15-4. The Quakers received a balanced attack offensively, featuring eight different goal scorers, while causing 12 turnovers and picking up 20 ground balls. Erin Barry and Zoe Belodeau led the way offensively as each tallied five points. Junior Mikaila Cheeseman made nine saves in the win. 

Impact Freshmen
A pair of freshmen have stepped from the first draw for the Quakers, as both Michaela McMahon and Taylyn Stadler have started both games this season. McMahon has scored two goals, one in each game, while Stadler has three points with two goals and an assist.

Sophomore Sensation
Zoe Belodeau returns to Penn's attack after boasting one of, if not the most, decorated seasons by a freshman in program history a year ago. Finishing as Penn's first ever freshman first-team All-Ivy selection, Belodeau set the Penn rookie record for points (80), goals (45) and assists (35) in a season, while setting the program record with 103 draw controls on the year. Belodeau recorded at least one point in 18 of Penn's 19 games last year, including a season-high nine points with five goals and four assists against Harvard.

Junior to Lead as a Senior
Selected as a captain for the 2019 edition of the Quakers, Katy Junior will bring valuable experience to Penn's backline this season. A two-time All-Ivy selection, Junior has started all 56 games of her career with the Red and Blue and ranked third on the team in both caused turnovers (23) and ground balls (38) last season.

Barry Impressive
Junior Erin Barry rounds out a potent scoring attack for the Quakers, as Penn returns all three of its top scorers from last season. Tabbed as a unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection in 2018, Barry led the team in both goals (51) and ground balls (44), while ranking second with 24 caused turnovers. 

Barry tallied the fourth game-winning score of her career with a free position goal in overtime at Johns Hopkins. 

A Tradition of Success
Penn has won 11 of the last 12 Ivy League championships, including three conference tournament titles, and have advanced to 12-straight NCAA Tournaments, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.

Aye, Aye Captain(s)!
Senior defenders Katy Junior and Lauren O'Mara have been tabbed as captains for the 2019 campaign of Penn women's lacrosse.

Regarding Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights enter Wednesday's contest at 3-1 on the year, boasting wins over LIU Brooklyn, Marist and Delaware, with a loss to Temple. Rutgers most recently took down the Blue Hens, a team Penn beat 15-4 to start the year, in overtime over the weekend, 12-11. Picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten preseason poll, Rutgers is led on offense by sophomore Taralyn Naslonski who owns 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists this season. Allison Ferrara and Marin Hartshorn each have scored 10 goals this season as well, while Devon Kearns has started all four games in goal for the Scarlet Knights, owning a .310 save percentage.