PHILADELPHIA – A perfect day out at Ellen Vagelos Field for the University of Pennsylvania field hockey team's Senior Day resulted in a 4-1 victory over Delaware, as three seniors found the back of the cage in their final home game of their careers.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Prior to the game, the Quakers honored the senior class: Maya Geller, Sydney Huang, Julia Russo, Olivia Kenny, Meghan Ward, Gracyn Banks, and Elita Van Staden.
 
*The victory is the first over the Blue Hens since 2007, and the first on the Quakers' home turf since 1989.
 
*The four goals tie the most goals Penn has scored against Delaware in series history. The Quakers scored four in a shutout victory in 2000 and a 4-2 win in 1988, both of which were on the road.
 
*In a two-game weekend, the Quakers found the back of the cage 11 times.
 
*Three of the four goals were scored by seniors: Van Staden, Russo and Huang. It was Russo and Huang's first goals of the season.
 
*The second goal of the game was scored by Lis Zandbergen, as Russo sent the assist on the play to lead the team with three points for the day.
 
*Frederique Wollaert tended the cage for the full 60 minutes, earning her sixth win of the season with two saves.
 
How It Happened
Penn and Delaware battled closely for the opening 30 minutes, with neither defense surrendering a goal before the half. The two teams combined for 10 shots in the first two quarters led by the Quakers with six, but the cage stayed untouched.
 
It was a different story in the second half, as Penn ignited the offense in the first six minutes back on the field. The first goal found the back of the cage in the 35th minute on a penalty corner. Courtney Kenah inserted a pass to the top of the circle where Van Staden unleashed a shot to the right side of the goal to break the scoring silence.
 
Less than two minutes later, the Quakers built some cushion on the scoreboard with another finish. Russo, with the ball in the middle of the circle, pulled the Blue Hen keeper out on her before quickly moving the ball to the left side of the circle to meet the stick of Zandbergen. The junior forward from the Netherlands received the pass and redirected it into the cage for the 2-0 lead.
 
Before the end of the third, Delaware cashed in on its first and only goal of the game to cut the deficit to one at the break.
 
In the final frame, Penn took complete control, firing off six shots to the Blue Hens' one, scoring on two. In the 52nd minute, Julia Ryan made a great defensive play at midfield to setup the third goal for Penn. Intercepting a pass, she moved the ball quickly up into the circle. She fired off a shot that was saved by the keeper, but the deflection went right to Russo on the right side where she wasted no time putting the ball into the goal.
 
Huang joined the scoring frenzy with five minutes left in the game, also finding some room in the circle after a deflected save by the keeper. Pulling in the ball on the doorstep, she put away a shot in traffic to seal up the 4-1 victory.

A second half full of goals! Four to be precise, three coming from our seniors!#FightOnPenn?????? pic.twitter.com/dk5vAKHiP2

— Penn Field Hockey (@PennFieldHockey) October 30, 2022

 
Up Next
The Quakers conclude their 2022 campaign next Saturday, making the trip to New Hampshire for an Ivy League bout at Dartmouth. Start time is set for 11 a.m.