Roundtable: What are you most excited about this weekend?

 

Sports Editor Colin Henderson: Volleyball may not be considered one of the marquee sports at Penn, but the team certainly held its own last year, going 8-6 in the Ivy League and 14-11 overall despite a rough start to the year. The program certainly had reason for optimism going into this season.

However, change is in the air for the program. With the loss of sophomore Arielle Winfield ­­— who will look to walk on to the track team — and significant senior leadership in the offseason, there are questions as to how the new team will look together at the start of this season. With three home matches over the weekend, I’m looking forward to seeing how they answer the bell. How about you, Holden?

Sports Editor Holden McGinnis: All eyes should be on Rhodes Field Friday for what should be another classic in the men’s soccer matchup between Penn and Drexel. There’s a little bit of everything to this matchup. Penn’s looking to show they’re still a top program after graduating a loaded senior class and they get to do it against a University City and Big Five rival in Drexel. Last year’s match was a 3-2 thriller as the Quakers held off a late Dragons surge in the final minutes and this year should be more of the same.

And don’t forget about Central Connecticut State, which faces off against the Quakers on Sunday in the second match of the University City Classic. It’ll be unfamiliar territory for both teams as they meet for the first time. With old friends and new, there’s plenty to get excited about for men’s soccer this weekend.

Sports Editor Ian Wenik: Holden is right about coming down to Rhodes Field, but people should be swinging by a few hours earlier to watch women’s soccer take on Old Dominion. Coach Darren Ambrose’s brand of defensive-oriented soccer isn’t going to light up the scoreboard, but it grinds out results. With the team already coming off a road match at Mount St. Mary’s on Friday, I don’t expect to see any early-season sloppiness whatsoever.

Haley Cooper, Caroline Dwyer, Lauren Hammond, Kaljiah Terilli ... the list goes on. Penn’s back line and keeper can match up with any team in the Ivy League. It’ll be exciting to see them in action for the first time in 2014.

Senior Sports Editor Steven Tydings: To paraphrase Eminem, you forgot about field hockey. But seriously, the field hockey team definitely excites me going into this weekend. Speaking with senior captain Emily Corcoran early this week, the team is young, which means we will get to see them grow before our eyes. Having leadership from seniors like Corcoran will help make things go smoothly.

Regardless of which teams the Quakers are playing, those opponents are coming to a pretty nice place at Ellen Vagelos Field. A young team, some solid leaders and a great field. What more can you ask for?

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