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The Penn women's lacrosse team hopes to continue the scoring barrage it started against Stanford. The past few years haven't been very memorable ones for Ohioans. The dark days began two years ago with the departure of the Cleveland Browns. And just under six months ago, the Indians lost the pivotal seventh game of the World Series in extra innings. All those bitter memories could be erased, however, if Ohio State (1-2) can overcome Penn tonight at Franklin Field in the final leg of a round robin tournament. A dominant Quakers team that shredded Stanford's defense for 19 goals just three days ago is the favorite of any oddsmaker. "The Ivy schedule we play is tougher than either of these teams, but we can't take these games for granted," Penn assistant coach Alanna Wren said. "Neither Ohio State nor Stanford is an Eastern school, and because of that, they are not exposed to the level of competition that we have." Both the Buckeyes and the Cardinal are on a spring break trip. Tonight's matchup will be the last in the Philadelphia area for both Stanford and Ohio State, which now head to Washington, D.C. The Quakers will rely once again on co-captains Darah Ross and Emily Hansel to create opportunities over the middle and exploit seams in the defense. "Our strategy is pretty much the same as the last game. We passed well and played aggressive defense against Stanford and we have to do the same things," Ross said. "We also played quickly in transition and that's why there were so many openings over the middle. We were on our game, and we just have to look to keep going against Ohio State." Penn's Ivy League schedule begins Saturday at Cornell. But unless the Quakers are confident that its young offense can provide a similar outburst, the team cannot cast off Wednesday's matchup as a sure 'W'. "We weren't expecting such an offensive outburst in our first game. I think we need to keep our focus," Penn coach Anne Sage said. The Buckeyes beat Gannon College to open the season. But since then, Ohio State's record has gone South -- falling to Colgate 11-6 and top-ranked North Carolina 15-5. If Ohio State cannot stop the Quakers from executing their set plays and converting transition opportunities into scores, they can expect to leave Philadelphia with a three-game losing streak. "We converted a lot of goal opportunities against Stanford," Ross said. "Even though we may not be able to hold at that pace, if we can find the seams and make good decisions, we should be alright." The Quakers' Ivy League season will commence this weekend at Cornell, and the matchups will only be tougher after that. Of course, if Penn can maintain its current scoring rate, all difficulties would vanish. But it is easier said than done to score a goal nearly every two minutes. The Red and Blue may face some turbulent skies later in their schedule, so for now, women's lacrosse must take advantage of easy opponents in Quakerland.

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