PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania field hockey team opens its 2019 campaign on the road this weekend as the Quakers prepare to stack up against two perennial powerhouses in this year's edition of the ACC/Ivy League Conference Crossover in Chapel Hill, N.C.
 
Penn will get the ball rolling on Friday at 2:30 p.m. as the Quakers face off against No. 10 Wake Forest in their season debut before lining up against defending national champion and top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME 1: Penn (0-0) vs. No. 10 Wake Forest (0-2)
Friday, September 6 | 2:30 p.m. | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Live Stats
 
GAME 2: Penn (0-0) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (2-0)
Sunday, September 8 | 1 p.m. | Chapel Hill, N.C. | Live Stats
 
Series History
Friday's season opener marks the second-ever meeting between the Quakers and the Demon Deacons. The two teams collided for the first time in Penn's 2018 season opener. A staunch defensive battle on a misty Ellen Vagelos Field ended 1-0 to the Quakers after Rachel Mirkin tipped in a ball driven across goal by Alexa Schneck five minutes into the game's second overtime period.
 
Sunday will mark the fourth game played between the Quakers and the Tar Heels, with the two teams meeting every year since 2016. Penn is still searching for its first win against UNC and will look to take down the defending national champion on the Tar Heels' home turf.
 
About the ACC/Ivy League Conference Crossover
This year will mark the second iteration of the ACC/Ivy league Conference Crossover. The weekend-long competition features Penn and Princeton as the representatives of the Ivy League and North Carolina and Wake Forest serving as the ACC's contingent. The Tigers will challenge the Tar Heels following the Quakers' game with the Demon Deacons on Friday, and a matchup between Princeton and Wake Forest will precede Sunday's encore—Penn vs. UNC.
 
Strength of Schedule
Seven of Penn's 17 opponents this season qualified for last year's NCAA Championship, including semifinalists Wake Forest and Princeton as well as defending national champion UNC. The remaining tournament teams on the Quakers' slate include Saint Joseph's, Harvard, Boston University, and Monmouth.
 
Returning Talent
Penn heads into the 2019 season with a bevy of returning talent, including first-team All-Ivy selection Schneck as well as honorable mentions Erin Kelly and Ava Rosati. The Quakers also return an additional four players who started at least 12 of Penn's 17 games last season.
 
Penn's Point Person
Schneck led the Quakers in all offensive categories in 2018, tallying 25 points after scoring ten goals and notching five assists. The senior captain scored eight goals and provided two assists in her seven Ivy League starts and led all Ancient Eight attackers with four game-winning goals.
 
Solid Foundation
The Quakers are coming off a season in which they led the Ivy League with four shutouts in conference play. Penn returns starting goalkeeper, Rosati who led all Ivy League shot-stoppers with six individual shutouts. The Quakers will also welcome back starting defenders Katelyn Mark, Reese Vogel, and Laura Shelton.
 
New ACL, Who Dis?
Penn will expect a significant contribution from rising sophomore Madison Woods on the Penn back line in 2019. Woods started Penn's first two games in 2018 but was ruled out for the remainder of the season after tearing her ACL in the first half of Penn's game against North Carolina.
 
Dual Sport Star
Rising sophomore Madison Jiranek returns for her second year with the field hockey program and competed in her first season with the women's lacrosse team earlier this spring. Jirnaek played 16 games with the field hockey team last season and scored one goal—the game-winner against Columbia (Oct. 12).
 
Jiranek played 15 games and made seven starts with the women's lacrosse team. As a freshman, she scored four goals and set up three assists.  Her first collegiate lacrosse goal came against No. 5 Northwestern (March 31) and she closed out her first year with a goal against Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA Championship. 
 
Weighing Up Wake
Wake Forest enters the weekend still in search of its first win of the season after dropping its opening two games at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Demon Deacons were edged, 2-1 by No. 8 Iowa in their season opener last Friday before a 3-0 defeat to No. 7 Michigan the following Sunday.
 
Trying the Tar Heels
UNC heads into the weekend riding a 25-game winning streak and have won 31 of its last 32 games dating back to the end of the 2017 season. The Tar Heels also opened their season at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in Ann Arbor but had better fortunes than their ACC counterpart, defeating No. 7 Michigan in their season opener last Friday, then edging No. 8 Iowa the following Sunday.