While the No. 2 Penn women's lacrosse team boasts a balanced offensive attack, Columbia relies mainly on two threats: senior Holly Glynn and junior Brittany Shannon.
When the Red and Blue (7-0, 2-0 Ivy) travel to New York to face Columbia (5-2, 0-1) at 3:30 this afternoon, the dynamic Lions duo will surely be on their minds.
Shannon and Glynn have combined for 43 of Columbia's 87 goals, while no single Penn player has scored more than 15 times.
"We're definitely going to have to have people matched up against them," Quakers attack Emma Spiro said. "We have been working on sending the [double teams] and covering the backside, so hopefully this week we'll do that."
Not only is Glynn an offensive force to be reckoned with, but she is also very strong in the midfield - she has grabbed 16 draw controls this season.
In order to shut down Glynn, the Quakers will need to look to their own draw control winners, including Spiro, who leads the team with 24.
Extra possessions, which are crucial in women's lacrosse, often rest on 50-50 balls. The Lions have a well-balanced group of six players who have each tallied more than 10 ground balls this season.
Penn coach Karin Brower cites the importance of a "clean game" in order to shut down Columbia's strong ground-ball corps.
"Coming up with the draws, coming up with the balls that are missed passes, whether they are by us or by them, [will be important]," Brower said.
The Quakers have been working on utilizing the fast break in game situations, and this might be the matchup in which they will succeed. The Red and Blue have a speed advantage over the Lions, and they should be able to capitalize on that weakness.
"[Our] speed is good. It's a good matchup of that," Brower said. "I'm hoping to create some plays from the fast break."
Penn will also be able to run plays off behind-the-cage feeds because the Lions' defense does not often pressure behind the net. But Columbia freshman defense Amanda Goodhart - who leads the Lions with 10 forced turnovers - should challenge the Quakers, and the team's strongest defender may be goalie Emma Mintz.
"She is probably one of the best players on the team. It will be really important to think before you shoot and to see the net and throw fakes in," Spiro said of Mintz. "She is really athletic and she moves well."
Mintz has played every minute of every game and has averaged 8.57 saves per contest.
The Quakers have faced their fair share of strong goalies, none of whom has been a problem for the team's leading scorers, Courtney Lubbe, Ali DeLuca and Spiro. But the Red and Blue have struggled to establish a high free-position shooting percentage, capitalizing only 28.6 percent of the time this season.
Mintz may make it difficult for Penn to increase that percentage, but it will take more than one player for the unranked Lions to pull off the upset.
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