Now that the field hockey team has finally scored (Saturday against Harvard in a 2-0 win), is it a little premature and a little foolish to talk about an Ivy League championship?
Perhaps not.
The Quakers are 1-3 and have been outscored 7-2 on the season. However, the nascent stages of this season look eerily familiar.
In 2004, Penn was coming off a decidedly mediocre season, 10-7 overall, 3-4 in the Ivy League. That 2004 year began with losses to William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth, and the Quakers also began the season 1-3.
Penn went on to win 13 of its next 15 matches, sharing the Ivy title with Harvard - Penn's first championship since repeating in 1993.
2004 was a fantastic aberration in the world of Ivy League field hockey. It was the only time in the last 12 years that Princeton did not claim at least a share of the title. It was one of only two times in 12 years that Princeton was not perfect in Ivy League play.
In 2005 the Quakers reverted to their 2003 form, running a 9-8 record, 3-4 against Ivy competition. Early this year, the team began to follow up that season in perfect 2004 form, losing its first two games on the road.
And this year there is every reason to expect that the Ivy title will run through Princeton again. But helping their cause, the Quakers have two things going to their advantage that they did not have two years ago: a perfect start to the Ivy League season with a victory over Harvard and a memory of what it takes to win it all.
Penn's many upperclassmen - five seniors and eight juniors - all have experienced the challenge and glory of winning a title.
Those battle-tested players want to experience the thrill of winning the league again and believe they have the capability to overtake the Goliath at the top of the Ancient Eight.
"We have the most talent we've had in my four years," senior Nyssa Liebermann said.
The ever-imposing Princeton squad, on the other hand, is young with just six upperclassmen, including two seniors.
Of course every Ivy team must look in the mirror and say "we have a chance" at this point. Penn, Princeton, Cornell and Brown all won their Ivy openers to get a leg-up on the other half of the league.
Cornell is dangerous, boasting the best goal differential in the league at eight-to-one. The Quakers will travel to Ithaca, N.Y., this weekend to take on the undefeated Big Red.
This weekend's victory over Harvard really brightened the spirits of the Penn team.
"It showed us we know how to win and how to score," Liebermann said.
The Quakers will need this confidence and determination to beat Cornell and its junior goalkeeper, Lizzie Goldblatt, who has given up one goal this year and just 1.57 per game last season.
Liebermann knows that this weekend may be decisive for her team's chances to win it all. She stated that if they win, "we are a force to be reckoned with."
With renewed confidence, experienced leadership and history on their side, the Quakers could indeed be a force to be reckoned with this Ivy season.
Matt Meltzer is a senior political science major from Glen Rock, N.J. His e-mail address is meltzerm@sas.upenn.edu.
