After the Penn women’s lacrosse team was able to keep up with the No.1 team in the country against Maryland and dominated Lehigh, the Quakers are eager to maintain their rightful spot at the top of the conference standings as they return to Ivy play.
“We take our non-conference games really seriously,” junior midfield Shannon Mangini said. “But there’s always that added intensity when there’s an Ivy League championship on the line.”
In Penn’s way is Columbia, a program that the Quakers (5-4, 3-0 Ivy) have dominated — going 16-0 — since the Lions’ (2-8, 0-4 Ivy) program began in 1997.
“It’s really important that we come out strong and hard from the start,” junior midfield Tory Bensen said. “They’re a much better team than they’ve been in the past and we can’t overlook them.”
One of the keys to the season so far has been the Quakers’ balanced offensive attack. The Red and Blue have four different players who have scored 10 or more goals, and four others have at least six.
Freshman midfield Iris Williamson has led the charge for Penn, tallying an impressive 22 goals on the season. But senior midfield Meredith Cain is making a late charge towards the team-high after her four goal performance at Lehigh on Wednesday.
A trio of juniors — Mangini, Bensen and Courtney Tomchik — have also been instrumental to the success of the Quakers. Mangini, who starts for the Red and Blue, has netted 10 goals while Bensen, who alternates between starting or being the first player off the bench, has 13. Tomchik has done a bit of everything this season, scoring six goals and adding five assists.
“Having so many girls that can score is great not only from a confidence standpoint but also to show how much depth we have on offense,” Bensen said. “With how many people are getting assists too, it really shows how far our offense has come.”
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Reigning All-American Maddie Poplawski has been a tremendous steadying force for the Red and Blue, contributing in all facets of the game. The senior midfield has nine goals and two assists, but her impact goes far beyond those numbers. She has scooped up 14 ground balls, gained 18 draw controls and caused eight turnovers on defense.
In order for the Quakers to be successful, they’ll need to play two full halves. They’re outscoring their opponents 44-37 in the first half but are tied 46-46 in the second (a stat which their opponents were leading 44-36 before Wednesday’s dominating 10-2 second half at Lehigh).
“We came out a little slow on Wednesday, but we know how important the second half is and we did a good job of coming out fast and putting the ball in the net,” Mangini said of the need to finish games strong.
About halfway through the Ivy League season, the Quakers are tied with both Dartmouth and Princeton atop the standings. All three are 3-0 in conference play, making a victory in this weekend’s matchup even more crucial.
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