The Penn field hockey team has a chance to do something tomorrow that no field hockey team at Penn has in the last five years.
Have a winning record.
On a day made even more significant by a scrimmage scheduled between the U.S. and British national teams at Franklin Field after the Penn game, the Quakers can earn their first winning record since October of 1998 with a win over Dartmouth tomorrow at noon.
"It will be a very big game for us," Penn coach Val Cloud said. "It's very important to make a stand in the Ivies with a victory."
The numbers on both teams coming into the game indicate that the Quakers (4-4, 1-1 Ivy) have a very good chance at going above .500 in the Ancient Eight and overall.
Penn is coming off three victories in its last four games, including two consecutive come-from-behind wins against La Salle and Villanova.
Junior Liz Lorelli has been the key component in these victories, scoring four goals total, including both game-winners to extend her team-leading tally to nine.
"We have been playing very well lately," Cloud said. "It's not just Liz, it's other people stepping up as well."
The duo of sophomore goalie Amanda Jacobs and freshman goalie Elizabeth Schlossberg continues to be the backbone of the Quakers' defense. Schlossberg posted her second win of her career with a scoreless second half against the Wildcats this Wednesday.
"We just try and keep going out there each time and give our team the chance to win," Schlossberg said after her first victory against La Salle last weekend.
Dartmouth, on the other hand, is a team still searching for its first win of the year.
After a season in which they won 11 games and earned a berth in the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, the Big Green have dropped their first seven games of the year, including two Ivy losses.
One reason for Dartmouth's demise is the loss of their top two scorers -- forwards Lauren Welsh and Carolyn Steele -- to graduation last year.
The losses have severely impaired the Big Green offense, which has tallied only eight goals and has not scored more than two in a single game this season.
"Losing key players like that is hard on any team," Cloud said. "That's a reason for the way they have been playing."
Nevertheless, the Quakers will still not take Dartmouth lightly as they try to extend their winning streak to three games -- something that they have accomplished once in the last four years.
"There is a lot of motivation in our winning streak," Cloud said. "But we're still going to take one game at a time, there's no added pressure."
An international "friendly" game between the U.S. and Great Britain's National Field Hockey teams is scheduled at 2:30 p.m., following the Dartmouth game.
Cloud was excited that Franklin Field was chosen as the venue to host the competition.
"I expect to see an increase in fan support for our game because of the national game right after," Cloud said. "Over here in the states, national field hockey is very sporadic -- it's a great chance for everyone to see them play."
