Fresh off their first Ivy League loss of the season against Yale Saturday, the Penn women's lacrosse team will have to look to get back to their winning ways against the best team in the land.
Today the Quakers (2-4, 0-1 Ivy League travel to Baltimore, Md., to take on No. 1 Loyola. At an unblemished 6-0 on the season, the Greyhounds have already posted quality wins against Princeton, 9-8, North Carolina, 10-4, and Towson, 9-8.
Senior Suzanne Eyler anchors the attack for Loyola. Coming into today's game Eyler boasts a team-leading 15 goals.
Helping Eyler to pace the Greyhounds will be junior Rachel Shuck who is the team leader in points (12 goals, eight assists) with 20 and freshman Sydney Greene who has already tallied 10 goals and is coming off of an incredible six-goal performance in her team's last outing against Boston University.
Despite the unblemished record that Loyola is currently sporting, Penn feels confident because several teams have played extremely close games before faltering at the end.
"They aren't unbeatable," senior Crissy Book said. "We are going to have to play with a lot of heart, but we want to win and we believe that we can."
However, if the Quakers wish to return from Maryland victorious they will have to improve upon their play in recent games.
After beginning the season with a dominating performance in a 12-3 win over Delaware, the Quakers have stumbled lately, dropping four of their last five games.
To get back on the winning track, Penn will have to perform much better on the defensive side of the ball. In the Red and Blue's two victories this season, they have allowed only four goals total. In their four losses, opponents have averaged 10 goals per game.
Goalkeeper Alaina Harper and senior defensive specialist Christy Bennett will be expected to anchor the reeling defense, but a whole team effort will be required to sufficiently slow the Greyhound attack.
"They are good all over the field," Book said. "But they are particularly fast at the midfield position. We are going to have to slow down their midfielders."
Junior Lindsey Cassidy and Book are making great contributions on the offensive end despite the team's overall struggles.
Cassidy is currently the team leader in goals scored, having tallied 12, and Book is close behind having tickled the twine nine times.
Despite recent difficulties, the Quakers' morale remains high.
"We're confident," Book said. "Yale is a really good team, and we felt that we outplayed them. We outshot them, but we hit some posts. Every team has their ups and downs, but we are really confident."
Even with all the confidence, Penn will still have to stop the Greyhound's offense if they want to entertain thoughts of an upset.
