W. Lax | Quakers going Stag to the Big Dance

May 8, 12:52 p.m.

With a fourth seed in the NCAA tournament, the Penn women's lacrosse team is starting their season anew.

The Quakers (13-2, 7-0 Ivy) dropped their last two regular season games to No. 1 Northwestern and then No. 13 Stanford, tarnishing their undefeated record. But the Red and Blue are looking to redeem themselves in their first matchup against unranked Fairfield (17-2, 6-0 MAAC) Sunday. The game will be played at Drexel's Vidas Field due to the Heptagonal Championships taking place at Franklin Field.

"Especially after coming from our two losses, we want to prove ourselves," freshman midfield Erin Brennan said. "We've been doing so well this season, and for a reason. We've been working so hard to get here."

While the Quakers have entered the postseason for the past three years, the Stags are making their tournament debut after their April 30 victory over NEC champion Sacred Heart in the play-in game. The Stags, who haven't dropped a game since their March 24 loss to Dartmouth, will arrive in Philadelphia ready to play.

"They have a lot of momentum coming in, no question," coach Karin Brower said. "For us it's just about getting back to Penn lacrosse and doing what we've been doing all year."

Although they dominated their opponents in draw controls this season, the Quakers were unable to gain and capitalize on their possessions in their last matchup against the Cardinal May 2. Penn's squad preaches that the draw control is all about heart, and it is prepared to fight for the fifty-fifty balls Sunday.

"They are good on groundballs, they are good on draws, they are fast," Brower said. "We have to want it more than them and we have to show that on the field."

Brower has scouted a few Stags she sees as scoring threats, and will have her defense matchup accordingly. Both Fairfield's sophomore midfield Kristen Coleman and senior midfield Rebecca White have 60 or more goals this season, and are sure to be on the Quaker's radar.

"If we can stop the fast break, especially off the draw, and limit those opportunities for them and get into more settled attack, I think that is where we play our best," Brower said.

On offense, Penn will be facing the Stag's back-up defense, the same style that gave the attack some trouble against Stanford. In practice this week, the Quakers needed to reiterate how to beat the backer defense. They only made six of their 28 shots against the back-up versus the Cardinal.

"It's a little different in getting in and having really nice shot with a backer," Brennan said. "We need to capitalize and score those goals."

Although the Stags are unranked, the Quakers have learned the hard way not taking any team lightly and are ready to start getting some more wins under their belt.

"It's important for us to play our Penn type of offense and defense and not let anyone dictate to us how we are going to play," Brennan said.

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