PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania field hockey team opens its season against No. 2 North Carolina and Old Dominion this weekend in Princeton, N.J. The Quakers will take on the Tar Heels on Friday at 3:30 p.m. and the Monarchs on Sunday at 11 a.m.  
 
GAME 1: PENN (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League) vs. No. 2 NORTH CAROLINA (2-0, 0-0 ACC) 
Friday, Sept. 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Princeton, N.J. 
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GAME 2: PENN vs. OLD DOMINION (1-1, 0-0 Big East) 
Sunday, Sept. 7 | 11 a.m. | Princeton, N.J. 
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Penn vs. North Carolina 
The Quakers and the Tar Heels are meeting for the ninth time, with UNC winning all eight previous matchups. Finishing one game shy of an NCAA championship game appearance last season, North Carolina enters the season with high expectations as they are ranked No. 2 in the preseason national coaches' poll.  
 
Penn vs. Old Dominion  
The Quakers and the Monarchs square off for only the second time ever, with the last matchup taking place in 1988. ODU took down Penn in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament at Franklin Field on the way to securing a national championship.  
 
Quaker Notemeal 

• The Red and Blue begin a new era with first-year head coach Scott Tupper at the helm.  
• Tupper spent the last four years serving as an assistant coach on the University of Maryland's staff where he helped lead the Terrapins to four NCAA Championship appearances—including two runs to the semifinals—and a Big Ten championship. 
• Penn returns eight players who competed in all 16 games last season. 
• Senior Julia Ryan earned second-team All-Ivy last season after leading the team in points (18) and tying for the team lead in goals (6).  
• Senior Livia Loozen matched Ryan's six goals last season (6); she also led the Quakers in shots on goal (19) and game-winning goals (2). 
• Senior goalie Ruby de Frees returns after starting all 16 games last year; she recorded 66 saves in 2024 and played all but eight minutes in the cage. 
• Senior Philine Klas led the team in minutes played by a field player last season (992). 
• Junior Sydney Mandato was selected to the 2025 United States National Indoor Field Hockey World Cup roster. 

 
Scouting the Tar Heels 

• North Carolina is coming into the weekend having earned victories over two Top 15 foes in #7 Michigan (3-0) and #15 Iowa (4-1) in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Iowa City August 29 and 31.
• Dani Mendez, Kara Heck, and Ryleigh Heck lead the Tar Heels with two goals each. Mendez also has two assists, totaling six points in two games.
• Goalies Merritt Skubisz and Katie Wimmer have started one game each so far, combining for 11 saves. Wimmer is 2-0 with seven saves and has not allowed a goal in 60 minutes. 
• A graduate student, Wimmer was a three-year letterwinner at Columbia where she was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in 2024.
• Charly Bruder led the country in goals per game last season (1.29). 
• UNC led the country in scoring average (4.05) and scoring margin (3.50) last year. 

 
Scouting the Monarchs  

• Old Dominion enters the weekend sporting a record of 1-1 after falling to VCU in its season opener, 3-2 in overtime, followed by a dominant 6-0 victory against William & Mary on Sunday.
• Josie Painter is ODU's leading scorer with three goals in two games. One of the scores proved to be the game winner over the Tribe. Sanci Molkenboer has distributed the ball efficiently with a team-leading three assists, adding a goal.
• In the net, goalie Suus Broers has allowed just three goals to a goals against average (GAA) of 1.43, totaling five saves.
• The Monarchs finished last season with an 11-6 record and ranked tenth in the country in scoring margin of victory (1.33).  
• Three players were selected to the NFHCA Watchlist (Broers, Sian Emslie, Serena Langendoen).

 
For the latest on Penn field hockey, follow @PennFieldHockey on X and on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.