If you're going to a Penn women's soccer game this year, don't expect a high-scoring affair. The defense just won't allow it. A strong back end has been crucial in the Quakers' success thus far this season, and it will surely play a big factor in this weekend's key conference matchup against Dartmouth (6-5-0, 0-3-0 Ivy). Coming off their sixth shutout of the season against Delaware State on Tuesday, the Red and Blue (7-3-1, 1-2-0) have compiled some impressive defensive stats so far.

As another big weekend approaches for Penn Volleyball here at the Palestra as they look to produce out on the court against Ivy rivals Brown and Yale.

In sports, it is good to have a short memory. So far this season, Penn women’s soccer has shown that's exactly what they have, downing non-conference opponent Delaware State on Tuesday night, 4-0, following a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to Columbia over the weekend.

With such a large team, Penn volleyball coach Kerry Carr made clear from day one that she does not guarantee time on the court, but can guarantee time on the bench. Carr has a team whose strength comes from each player’s ability to come into the game at any moment, a skill that is necessary with such a deep roster of twenty-three girls. This is why sophomore Julia Tulloh and freshmen Ariana Wiltjer and Zoe Macartney's ‘team-first’ mentality and fierce work ethic are so critical to their individual and collective success as a team. "Julia, Ariana and Zoe are three girls who epitomize what the whole chemistry of the team is like," Carr said. After coming in as a walk-on her freshman year, Tulloh’s incredible work ethic and positive attitude made her a unique asset to the team from day one.

In most team sports, there’s no individual accolade as prestigious as the goal-scoring record. Penn field hockey’s Alexa Hoover, the Quakers’ star attack from Collegeville, P.A., knows quite a bit about that, having broken the record halfway through her junior season.

Trying to score against the Quakers this week? Good luck. Penn field hockey defeated Dartmouth and Temple, both in shutouts, this weekend.

Within twenty-four hours, Penn volleyball played ten grueling sets in New York. But it was to no avail, as the Quakers fell in two tight matches against rivals Cornell and Columbia. “We played both matches really tough,” Coach Kerry Carr said “When it gets to the overtime set, and you’re on the road, it just gets a lot tougher.” The Quaker’s campaign began at the Newman Arena against the Big Red.

On a day when everything else in the Ivy League went right for Penn, one moment was enough to break the spirits of women’s soccer. 

The moment the whistle blew, it was off to the races for Penn women’s soccer. The Quakers managed to put up three goals in the first seven minutes while paying a visit to American on Tuesday in their 4-0 win over the Eagles.

Coming off a sweep in the first Ivy doubleheader of the year, Penn volleyball will hit the road over fall break and take on Cornell and Columbia. The Quakers (7-8, 2-1 Ivy) carry momentum into the weekend after wins over Harvard and Dartmouth, but they'll face two hungry teams in New York, with the Big Red (5-7, 0-3) desperate for their first conference win and the Lions (8-5, 3-0) looking to stay undefeated in league play.

Penn field hockey’s senior captains, Elise Tilton and Claire Kneizys, made it to Penn in very different ways. But now that they’re here, they have one key similarity: an unmatched drive to lead the Quakers to their first Ivy League title since 2004.

The season is only halfway done for Penn field hockey but already we have seen records broken, overtime thrillers, and major positional changes.

Last week, the Central Athletic Collegiate Conference announced that Penn women’s basketball coach Mike McLaughlin will be inducted into the conference hall of fame.

Sometimes the fight means more than the win. And, in the 20th edition of the Cissie Leary Memorial Invitational, the Quakers endured extraordinary battles throughout the weekend. On Sunday, play at the Hecht tennis center concluded at Penn’s annual home tournament, commemorating the late Cissie Leary, who served as the women's tennis coach at Penn from 1977-1996.

What difference does an extra few thousand meters make? Evidently not much: the Quakers seemed unfazed as the distance ramped up at Lehigh in longest race they’ve seen so far this year. Both Penn cross country teams had powerful finishes today at the prestigious Paul Short Invitational.

In recent years, Ivy League volleyball has trended toward two stratifications: the four teams at the top and the four at the bottom.

There was a strong overcast over Ellen Vagelos Field as Penn field hockey squared off with Harvard, an apt metaphor for the stubborn opposition that the Quakers faced on the field. In what ended up as an unfortunate 3-2 loss in double-overtime for the Red and Blue (6-3, 1-1 Ivy), there were many points where the home side showed little sign of being able to surmount the 2-0 lead from its Boston rivals. The Crimson (6-4, 2-0) went up by one 25 minutes into the first half after a shot off a corner found its way past junior goalie Liz Mata.