The Penn field hockey team (0-2, 0-1 Ivy League) will try to notch its first victory of the 2002 campaign tonight when the Quakers take on the Lafayette Leopards (4-2) at Easton, Pa.
The Red and Blue dropped their first two decisions of the season at Franklin Field this weekend. The Quakers lost to University City rival Drexel on Friday by a 4-3 margin, and fell in Sunday's Ivy League opener to Harvard, 4-2.
The veteran Leopards, contenders for their first Patriot League championship since 1999, are led by co-captain Megan Monahan, the reigning league Offensive Player of the Year.
With 99 career points on 39 goals and 21 assists, Monahan is on pace to become the Patriot League's all-time leading goal scorer and points leader.
Last week, the senior forward tallied five goals and five assists in wins over Monmouth, Stanford and Cornell. As a result, she was honored with her first Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week award.
Also leading the way for the Leopards is junior Meredith Hahn. Currently second on the team in scoring with 12 points (4 goals, 4 assists), Hahn has proven effective up top for coach Ann Gold. In Sunday's 4-3 victory at Cornell, Hahn tallied six points including the game-winning goal.
The third cog in the Lafayette scoring machine is senior forward Beth Gulotta. Her five goals are good for second on the team.
Monahan, Hahn and Gulotta have combined for 16 goals in Lafayette's five games, representing 80 percent of the team's total.
Co-captain Erica Bartsch has been a staple in back for the Leopards. A starter in over 40 consecutive games, Bartsch anchors a smothering defensive unit.
Going back to the beginning of the 2001 season, Lafayette has allowed only 40 goals in its last 24 games.
In the net, junior Casey Devlin has secured the starting spot after two seasons as the graduated Amy Cohen's understudy. Following a rocky opener at Penn State that saw her give up five goals, Devlin has settled in nicely as the Leopards' regular netminder.
After opening the season with a pair of losses -- the 5-0 drubbing at Penn State and a 2-1 overtime heartbreaker at Villanova -- the Leopards have responded with four straight victories.
In last year's meeting between the two teams at Franklin Field, the Leopards held a late 2-1 lead before a Liz Lorelli equalizer sent the game to overtime. There, Hahn notched the game-winner.
Game time is 7 p.m. at Lafayette's Rappolt Field.
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