The Penn women’s lacrosse team enters its opener against Drexel with history in its corner.
The No. 3 Quakers have not lost a season opener since 2004 and have also made a habit of downing Drexel in recent years — kicking off each of the past three seasons with wins over the Dragons.
But its a clean slate this year as Penn travels to Vidas Field for an afternoon showdown with their red-hot next-door neighbors.
The Dragons have won all three of their home games since opening with a 13-9 victory at Virginia Tech.
Despite dominating Philadelphia competition for three years, Penn coach Karin Brower Corbett cannot afford to take unranked Drexel lightly.
“With our schedule, you have an unranked loss and it will kill you,” Corbett said. “We have to play this game just as much as we’re playing Northwestern.”
One Drexel player looking to challenge the Red and Blue’s recent dominance is senior Katie Lawson, who leads her squad with 15 goals.
The reigning Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week accounts for a third of her team’s total offense and is liable to put the ball past the goalie anytime it rests in her pocket.
“When we saw her play this past weekend, every time she got the ball she went to goal,” Corbett said. “[We need to] have the team understand that when [number] 2 has the ball, she’s going [to goal] and we’ve got to look to help.”
As if Lawson needed more motivation than an 0-3 career record against Penn, the senior midfielder has yet to net a goal in any of those contests.
The Quakers are trying to make sure this isn’t the year Lawson bucks that trend.
“They can’t beat us with one girl; no one ever has,” Spiro said. “Our defensive unit as a whole has been able to stop some of the best attackers in the country, and I think we’re ready to play as a unit.”
Expect early contributions from the eight-woman freshmen class all over the field.
According to Corbett, freshman Lizzy Price could see significant minutes on defense along with rookies Maddie Poplawski in the midfield and Caroline Buntingon attack.
“We’ve only had one day of scrimmages this year which puts us at a little bit of a setback,” Spiro said. “But we’re confident in ourselves and I think we’ve really come together in the last few weeks.”
But the biggest obstacle facing the Red and Blue could be the temptation to overlook their opponent.
Given the standards the No. 3 Quakers have set in recent years, it may be difficult to remember that tomorrow’s season-opener is the beginning of another national championship run — and a loss could derail their chances.
“That’s hard,” senior captain Emma Spiro said. “[The seniors] have been trying to stay focused on the next game, the next play, the next everything, rather than looking ahead.”
