Penn’s season may be over, but there will be no shortage of lacrosse in Philadelphia this weekend.
The NCAA women’s lacrosse national championships will be held at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pa. this weekend, featuring three of the opponents that Penn faced off against in the regular season.
The action begins on Friday with two semifinal games as No. 3 North Carolina takes on No. 2 Northwestern and undefeated No. 1 Maryland faces No. 4 Syracuse in order to determine who will be playing in the championship matchup.
The semifinal games are at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m., and the winners will face off for the title Sunday, May 26, at 8 p.m. The semifinal and championship games will be broadcast on ESPN3 and ESPNU, respectively.
Penn students making the short trip to Villanova to watch the championship games will see some familiar faces.
In Penn’s three matchups against a Final Four opponent — the Quakers played Maryland, Northwestern and North Carolina — over the course of the season, Penn lost each match by five or more goals, by margins of five, seven and six respectively.
It was just five years ago when the Quakers found themselves in the Final Four, losing to Northwestern in the championship game, 10-6. That 2008 campaign was the second straight in which Penn made it to the Final Four.
While Penn qualified for the NCAA tournament this year, the Red and Blue lost in the first round, falling to Virginia, 12-6.
In addition to the NCAA Final Four, the 2013 IWLCA North-South Game takes place this weekend outside of Philadelphia at Cabrini College. The North-South Game was developed as an all-star game to celebrate the nation’s best seniors.
A week after graduating from Penn, midfield Maddie Poplawski was asked to play in the game.
She was one of 40 players invited and will play on the South team.
Poplawski, a former team captain, was second on the club with 44 draw controls, helping her set the Ivy League record with 176 draw controls in her career.
The game will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
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