Three Up, Three Down: Penn field hockey vs. Cornell

The Quakers are off to a hot start this season, capturing two of their first three games on the road against in-state opponents. Despite dropping a close match to Bucknell last weekend, Penn returns to the field this weekend, kicking off its Ivy League slate against Cornell on Saturday. The Red and Blue will also take on Pacific on Sunday.

Three Up—

Vagelos Field: For the first time ever, Penn field hockey will play in a field hockey-only venue. Thanks to the new field, the Quakers now offer other teams a more lucrative opponent and will certainly be able to host an increased number of non-conference home games, as evidenced by its matchup with Pacific this Sunday.

Early scoring: The Red and Blue have outscored their opponents 11-8 in the first three games of the season, with seven of those goals coming in the first half. Against St. Joseph’s last Friday, junior attack/midfield Emily Corcoran scored just over a minute into the game, setting the tone in Penn’s 5-2 victory. The Quakers have scored first in their last two games, and freshman attack Jasmine Cole leads the team with four goals.

Jasmine Cole: The freshman from Montclair, N.J., is off to a hot start in her rookie campaign. After knocking in a goal in her debut against Lehigh, Cole notched a hat trick against St. Joseph’s. She has taken 10 shots this season, and her .900 shots on goal percentage leads the team.

Three Down—

Shot percentage: While Cole and fellow freshman attack Elise Tilton have converted often this season, the rest of the team has failed to convert at the same level. Of Penn’s 11 goals thus far, seven have come from this duo of rookies. Other than those two, only Corcoran, senior attack Julie Tahan and sophomore attack Elizabeth Hitti have come through for the Red and Blue. Moreover, the team as a whole has posted a mere .256 shot percentage.

Goals against: Compared to the first three games of 2012, Penn has actually allowed more goals against its 2013 opponents. Last season, the Quakers started 3-0, and only gave up six scores in those three games. A year later, junior goalkeeper Carly Sokach has given up eight scores, with six of those coming in the team’s first two matches. Sokach was on top of her game against Bucknell, but her 11 saves were not enough to keep Penn from suffering its first defeat.

Pacific: The Tigers have a had a rough beginning to their season in all aspects of the game. Pacific was shut out, 7-0, in its season opener against Michigan State, and things haven’t gotten much better in the following contests. The Tigers dropped their first four games by a combined score of 17-5. On its current Keystone State road trip, however, Pacific is 1-0, after knocking off St. Joseph’s in a double-overtime thriller on Thursday. With contests against La Salle and St. Francis (Pa.) on Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Tigers could well be burned out by the time they visit Vagelos Field on Sunday morning.