Penn field hockey falls to No. 15 St. Joe's for fifth consecutive loss

Even though the end result was not what the team wanted, Penn women’s field hockey played with toughness Sunday afternoon.

The Quakers stayed in Philadelphia for their contest at No. 15 Saint Joseph's, where they lost by a score of 3-0.

The Hawks (6-1) got the scoring started in the 11th minute on a strong run to the net. The first quarter was quiet after that as the score remained 1-0 going into the second. St. Joe’s came out hot in the second quarter on a diving goal from junior forward Jordan Olenginski to take a 2-0 lead. The Hawks would later tack on a third goal in the final period to finish the scoring.

Despite the loss, the Quakers (0-5) outplayed the Hawks for stretches of the game and had more opportunities on goal and with corners.

“We’ve really been focusing on taking more quality shots, and I think we did really well with that today,” sophomore midfielder Gracyn Banks said. “We could have done a little better marking tight in our circles and finishing on our offensive opportunities."

Junior forward/midfielder Jordan Thies played a solid game, as she was able to fire two of four shots on goal. The four total shots were two fewer than her total from her Penn career previously. Banks, who played the whole game, led the team with six shots, one of which was on goal.

The Quakers fired 18 shots and collected eight corners compared to the Hawks' nine shots and three corners. Penn outpaced St. Joe’s in many facets of the game, and the group will look to use that as a confidence booster for the remainder of the season.

“I think it shows us that we absolutely have what it takes to win these games,” Banks said. “We just have to work harder and work together to turn the shots into goals.”

The schedule does not get much easier after this, as the Quakers still have games against four ranked opponents in No. 14 Harvard, No. 25 Boston, No. 10 Delaware, and No. 6 Princeton.

If the Red and Blue are able to learn and grow from these tough tests, they might have a chance to pick up some big wins later in the season.

“We will definitely benefit from playing ranked teams,” Banks said. “Playing tough opponents will only make us stronger, especially with Ivy League play starting up next weekend.”

Penn will try to get its first win of the season when it plays against Cornell at home on Sept. 28. Although a win hasn’t materialized yet, the most important part of the season is still to come for the Red and Blue.