A midweek, nonconference road game is hardly an ideal scenario for any team, much less a team competing to defend its Ivy League title. But for Penn women’s soccer, that is no excuse for sub-par effort.

Despite an early 1-0 lead, the Penn field hockey team fell to nonconference powerhouse Rider, 7-1, Wednesday in Lawrenceville, N.J.

When the Quakers took on the Lions two weeks ago, Penn freshman Matt Schwartz was on the field with his twin brother Roy — on the opposing sideline.

Former Penn and current Temple men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy recently tried a unique way to build his team’s chemistry — he had his players go out on the Schuylkill River to train with the Temple crew team.

Essentially an extended season beyond the normal high-school season, club volleyball has become a necessity for high-school players pursuing a collegiate career.

In its last non-conference match tomorrow against Lehigh, the Penn women’s soccer team has one final chance for a tune up before its final two Ivy League games against Brown and Princeton.

The manner in which the Quakers, so poised at the beginning of the season, fell out of contention is as close to tragic as sports can be.

The first thing teammates and coaches noticed about the new-and-improved Fran Dougherty was his body. Over the offseason, the timid, slight freshman has grown into a sturdy sophomore.

As solid as Penn’s offense looked in Saturday’s fourth quarter against Yale and in all of its late-game comebacks, I’m worried about the defense giving up big plays.

It’s time to stop kidding ourselves and cut our losses. Organizers have tried tinkering with the event for several years with no success.

At the 105th minute, Yale forward Charlie Paris scored an easy goal on a short pass inside the box, effectively ending Penn’s hopes for a title in a 2-1 loss.

Despite a halftime lead, Penn field hockey fell to first-place Yale, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at Franklin Field.

As the third quarter came to a close Saturday, several members of the Yale football team held four fingers aloft.

Penn Volleyball jumped out to early leads against Ivy co-leader Princeton in the last two sets, but gave them up shortly after the Tigers called timeouts and regrouped.

With another convincing win, the Penn women’s soccer team remained within striking distance for another Ivy League championship.

Despite being down 20-10 at one point, the Quakers rallied back to win their 18th straight Ivy game, 37-25. VIDEO: Penn vs. Yale highlightsGALLERY: The best photos from the 2011 Penn football seasonTHE BUZZ: The good, the bad and the ugly from Yale

Sunday, Yale field hockey brings its Ivy League-leading offense to Philadelphia to take on a Penn team that has been on an offensive surge.