As classes hit the ground running, so does Penn sports. Many Quaker teams have either begun competition or are on the precipices of beginning their seasons. From football to cross country, and everything in between, here is what you need to know about the Penn teams competing this fall. 

Women’s Cross Country

Following a third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Regionals, Penn women’s cross country returns in 2023 with much of their previous talent still in tow. Most importantly, Maeve Stiles is back for her senior year in the Red and Blue after finishing last season with a third-place finish in the regional meet and earning an All-Ivy selection. Her 20:15.3 in the Regional meet also set a new program record.

The Quakers return all seven of their top finishers from the Regional meet — setting them up for a chance at gold this November. But first, the team’s season begins at the Lehigh Invitational on Sept. 1 — the first step in what the group hopes will be a prosperous fall.

Men’s Cross Country

While the men’s cross country team will not have quite the same level of continuity as the women’s team, there is still plenty to look forward to heading into the new campaign. The team will miss some of last year’s senior leaders — notably Michael Keehan and Zubeir Dagane — but features several promising young runners striving to make their mark this season.

Sophomores Sahil Dodda and Dennis Fortuna both got the nod in last year’s NCAA Regionals, and return with the chance for even further improvement. Coach Steve Dolan said the team’s early meets, including the opener at Lehigh, are intended to help the group gain “experience.” For the younger runners, that will go a long way.

Field Hockey

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Penn field hockey has perhaps the most exciting season opener imaginable waiting for them on Sept. 1: a date with the reigning national champion. The Quakers ring in 2023 by taking on North Carolina, a chance to make a huge statement and score revenge. In 2022, the Tar Heels blanked the Quakers 4-0 in part of a turbulent 0-7 start for the Red and Blue.

But Penn turned that season around, winning 7 of its last 10 and going 4-3 in the Ivy League. It is that drive that will carry the team into 2023. With two of their top three scorers back in the fold, the sky is the limit for the Red and Blue.

Football

Following an impressive 8-2 campaign last season, Penn football will be trying to continue the momentum gained in 2022. Last year, the Quakers started red hot by winning their first six games before falling to Brown and Harvard late in the year and finishing second in the Ivy League. This time around, Dan Swanstrom returns for a second year as the Quakers’ offensive coordinator, and junior quarterback Aidan Sayin is set to enter the season as starting quarterback. 

Despite losing some of last year’s standouts to graduation or the transfer portal, Penn also has several other key contributors returning this year. Senior defensive backs Jaden Key and Kendren Smith are both back for a fifth year, and have both been chosen for preseason first-team All-Ivy recognition, alongside junior Julien Stokes, who was selected as a kick returner. Eight additional Quakers received second-team honors. 

Sprint Football

Last year brought much of a mixed back for sprint football as the team finished 3-4, down from a 5-2 record in 2021. But over the summer, the Quakers made some moves as they hired Bobby Ray Harris as defensive coordinator, promoting him from the role of video coordinator. Harris previously held coaching positions at Rowan University, William Paterson University, and Saint Peter’s, as well as with the Rams of the NFL. 

This year, the Quakers will kick off with their traditional Alumni Game on Sept. 9, followed by their first intercollegiate match the following Friday at Chestnut Hill. Penn will be seeking to win the Collegiate Sprint Football League for the first time since 2016, and break the service academies’ recent hold on the league. 

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Women’s Golf

For the fall portion of its 2023-24 season, women’s golf has four tournaments ranging from mid-September until late October. In these four competitions, the Quakers will be out to begin their defense of last year’s Ivy League Championship. In the conference championships last April, Penn finished just four strokes ahead of Harvard. 

Coming into the year, the team will need to replace multiple graduated seniors; Selina Li and Susan Xiao who both had strong showings in several tournaments throughout last season. But the team also returns plenty of talent, as two sophomores — Julie Shin and Bridget O’Keefe — bring experience from their participation in last year's Ivy League Championships. Without a single senior currently on the roster, this fall should lay the foundation for several seasons to come. 

Men’s Golf

The men’s golf team also has four competitions in the fall before its winter break, beginning with the Alex Lagowitz Memorial at Colgate this upcoming weekend. The team finished last season with a fifth-place result at Ivy Championships, but had strong showings in other spring tournaments, including tying for second at Columbia’s Roar-EE Invitational. 

Similar to the women’s team, the men will be losing a key contributor in the form of Mark Haghani, who graduated last spring after a storied career in Red and Blue. But other than Haghani, the Quakers will be returning the other four members of their squad at the conference Championships, including junior John Richardson, who tied with Haghani for low score at that tournament. 

Men’s Soccer

After capturing its first Ivy League title since 2013 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament, 2022 will be hard to top for Penn men's soccer. 

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The Quakers kick off 2023 with four straight games on the road, including the program's first ever matchups against Fordham and Hofstra, before the season's first game in front of a home crowd at Penn Park on Sept. 16 against Albany. But a tough schedule may be no match for an even fiercer returning roster — including the reigning Ivy League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, Stas Korzeniowski and Leo Burney, who scored 11 and five goals last time out, respectively. 

With an Ancient Eight title to defend and a national ranking at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, eyes will be on Penn men's soccer this fall.

Women’s Soccer

Entering the 2023 slate after a troublesome 3-6-7 overall record and a 0-5-2 conference record in 2022, women's soccer is looking to make a complete 180.

Last season was coach Krissy Turner's first at the helm, and the team's struggles to adjust were evident. Plagued by low scoring matches — including a three-game stretch where the team lost each contest 0-1 — only three players found the back of the net more than once all season. The Red and Blue may have found the stable footing they were desperately searching for in 2022, though, as the Quakers kicked off their 2023 campaign with a pair of wins against American and Delaware last weekend. Having nine new players on this year's roster itching for their chance on the field, and the kinks of last season ironed out, the future of Penn women's soccer is looking bright.

Volleyball

22 losses, only two wins, and far too many 0-3 defeats to count — 2022 was nothing short of a struggle for Penn volleyball. But a new season means a chance to start fresh, and the team will hit the ground running with three games at the Molly Howard-Gerwig Memorial Tournament this Labor Day weekend in Houston.

The team welcomes a diverse class of fresh players to the roster, offering exceptional support to the back line. Assistant coach Sara Parson also joined the Red and Blue this offseason, building on the all-hands-on-deck mentality carrying the Quakers this year. Ivy League play is still a ways away, when Penn will go up against Princeton on Sept. 22 at home. But this season's non-conference slate will be one to keep an eye on, as the team attempts for a completely different 2023.