In the first matchup between the Penn and Dartmouth field hockey teams in 1977, Penn came out with a win on Franklin Field. The Quakers intend to repeat history tomorrow afternoon.
Following a home contest against the Big Green tomorrow, Penn will travel across town to face Temple Sunday at 2 p.m.
After a 2-0 loss to Lafayette Wednesday, the Quakers hope to rebuild their communication, which fell apart as Penn allowed two goals in quick succession in the second half.
“We just didn’t connect very well,” senior captain Sarah Warner said, “so we’re going to do lots of transition drills and passing to look after the goal.”
Dartmouth (4-4, 1-1 Ivy) comes to Franklin Field with a lot of momentum after scoring 12 goals last weekend, including eight against Brown. The Big Green are averaging 3.125 goals per game (the Quakers have only put up 1.44) and are on a three-game winning streak.
So above all else, Penn (3-6, 1-1) needs to simply find a way to stop the high-scoring team.
“We have to keep the ball out of the circle,” sophomore goalkeeper Kieran Sweeney said.
Despite the talented opponent, the Quakers expect to break their streak.
“We usually do pretty well against good teams,” Warner said. “It’s an Ivy game so it’s more exciting but lots of pressure.”
Warner, a back, and the rest of the Quakers’ defense will have to contain Dartmouth sophomore forward Kelly Hood, who is first in the League with 1.2 goals per game.
The Berlin, N.H., native scored five goals in the 8-3 win over Brown.
“She’s a strong player,” Penn assistant coach Megan McGuin said, “but we’ve seen a lot of strong players in the past that we’ve stopped.”
Luckily for Penn, Sweeney seems to be coming into her own, as she had eight saves game against Lafayette.
“Everything is going to stay the same,” Sweeney said of her team’s gameplan after the loss to the Leopards. “We just have to figure out our problems that happened last time and keep up our communication.”
Temple, like Dartmouth, is riding a streak — but it’s a five-game skid. The Owls (3-8) will have a chance to end their slide today when they host Stanford. Last season, the Quakers defeated Temple, 4-1, at home.
Before the Quakers get the slumping Owls, they have to take care of the talented Big Green. Penn leads the all-time series against Dartmouth (19-11-3), but the two teams have split the last four games.
“We expect to win,” McGuin said. “We want that ‘W.’”
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