Now ranked eighth in the nation and hot off their 10-8 upset win over the Princeton Tigers, the women's lacrosse team heads south to play the Penn Quakers and the Penn State Nittany Lions in a Friday-Sunday weekend double-header.
The Big Green made their mark last weekend by downing their perennial Ivy foe and vaulting three spots in the national poll. But this weekend's games leave no time for even a short breather as both Pennsylvania squads are hot on Dartmouth's tail in the rankings.
The 12th-ranked Quakers currently boast a 2-2 overall record and a perfect 2-0 record in Ivy play. With two narrow one-goal victories over Cornell and Harvard, Penn is now seeded tops among the Ivies.
Much of the Quakers' success is rooted in their offensive depth and experience. There's definitely something to be said for a team which claims three of the league's top four scorers.
"In the beginning of the game, we need to put the Quakers on their heels by coming out strong and scoring early," senior tri-captain Kim Mendelson said.
But beating Penn tonight will only be half the battle this weekend.
The Penn State matchup on Sunday also promises to be a tough match as the Nittany Lions are only one spot behind the ninth-ranked Big Green in the national poll.
"Penn State is a tough team," Mendelson said. "We haven't beaten them since my freshman year."
Averaging two goals per game for the Nittany Lions, Michele DeJulius is a returning All-American and a member of the US National Team.
"The key for us in both games is consistency," Coach Amy Patton said. "We need to play with the same intensity for the entire 60 minutes, rather than in spurts."
"It's now when all the hard work from the winter will pay off," senior tri-captain Kelly Hannigan said.
The Big Green will be banking on their diverse and talented offensive strike of rookie Jacque Weitzel, Mendelson, Julia Morrill '98, Hannigan, Emily Fenwick '00 and Heather McNulty '99.
In the backfield, sophomore Sarah Carlson will be in charge of closing the gate -- a job she's been very good at as of late. Named last week's Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, Carlson boasts a .543 save percentage and a eight goals-against average.
In the end, Dartmouth seems to have everything it needs to get the job done this weekend. "We just have to use the confidence we won this past weekend against Princeton to bring home two big wins," Mendelson said.
