When the scores for last weekend's field hockey games were posted online, several members of the Penn field hockey team were shocked at one of the results.
Lafayette, the Quakers' next opponent, had upset No. 4 Penn State -- last year's runner-up in the NCAA tournament -- in overtime.
"I was definitely surprised," Penn senior co-captain Jackie Lange said. "But Lafayette is a pretty good team -- they're in the Patriot League, which means they don't always get the credit they deserve."
And now the Quakers (1-2, 0-1 Ivy) will have to tame the Leopards tonight at 7 p.m. on Franklin Field.
The Leopards (3-3) were down 1-0 to Penn State for most of last weekend's game, but they tied it when junior forward Missy Farrand scored with 25 minutes remaining in the contest.
Farrand scored her second goal of the game 1:22 into the extra session to give the Leopards the victory.
With the Lafayette game on the horizon, Penn coach Val Cloud sought an explanation for the recent upset.
"I spoke to the opposing coaches and the coach who won," Cloud said. "Lafayette had a good game and Penn State didn't."
Cloud recognizes that the Leopards return eight seniors from a team that posted 19 consecutive victories -- including a 4-2 victory over Penn -- to earn the Patriot League Championship last year.
The Leopards finished No. 18 last season but failed to make the NCAA tournament after losing a play-in game to California that would have given them an automatic berth.
"What Lafayette is known for is that they play with a physical determination," Cloud said. "It's always a tough game because they never give up fighting."
Despite losing three non-conference matchups, the Leopards have already garnered national attention. Farrand was recently named Division-I Field Hockey Player of the Week by womensfieldhockey.com after posting back-to-back, game-winning overtime goals against Penn State and No. 20 Richmond.
The Leopards also boast a powerful offensive threat in senior forward Jennifer Stone. The senior co-captain is currently tied for first in the nation in goals scored with nine and is third nationally in points with 18.
Yet Cloud is optimistic that the Quakers will earn their second victory of the season against a team that, despite its recent surge, is not considered as powerful as some of Penn's Ivy foes.
"They are definitely beatable -- we should have the upper hand on them," Cloud said. "They are not as good as Harvard, who we took to the wire last week."
The Quakers can breathe easier with the graduation of All-American Megan Monahan from the Leopards' roster. The forward led the nation in offense last year, tallying 80 points with 33 goals en route to breaking four Patriot League records.
"[Lafayette] lost the leading scorer in field hockey last year," Cloud said. "But their offense should still be tough."
The Quakers will hope to continue their own surge on offense, which jumped out to a 2-0 lead against a two-time All-Ivy goalkeeper last weekend in Boston.
"We definitely regained some of our momentum from last year by scoring two goals unanswered against Harvard," Lange said. "Hopefully, we can continue this against Lafayette tomorrow."
As for the goalie position, Cloud expects to continue platooning between sophomore Amanda Jacobs and freshman Elizabeth Schlossberg, even though the strategy did not work out well in Harvard's come-from-behind victory over Penn.
"Elizabeth is going to go a long way -- we need to get her some experience in there," Cloud said. "It was the entire defense that got stage fright."
