The University of Pennsylvania field hockey team is set to participate in the UMD Invitational this weekend in College Park, Maryland. The Quakers will play against the No. 10 ranked Maryland Terrapins on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a match against the American Eagles on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Head Coach Scott Tupper returns to College Park for the first time since joining Penn, after spending four seasons as an assistant coach with Maryland. During his tenure there, he contributed to four NCAA tournament appearances under Hall of Fame head coach Missy Meharg.
The Quakers currently hold a 1-1 record after splitting their opening games against No. 2 North Carolina and Old Dominion. Their recent victory over Old Dominion marked their first win against that program in school history.
Looking ahead to Friday’s game, Penn faces a challenging opponent in Maryland, which holds a 5-14 all-time record advantage over the Quakers and has won the last eleven meetings between the two teams. Maryland enters this matchup on a two-game losing streak but both defeats came against highly ranked opponents—No. 4 Boston College and No. 6 Duke.
Penn’s second opponent, American University, will be meeting the Quakers for just the fourth time overall and for the second consecutive season. Last year, American secured a 1-0 shutout victory over Penn in Philadelphia. In three previous encounters, Penn has yet to score more than one goal against American.
Several individual performances have stood out early this season for Penn. Senior Julia Ryan was nominated for Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after scoring in both opening matches. Junior Sydney Mandato earned a nomination for Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week following her career-high three assists versus Old Dominion and having played every minute so far this season. Junior goalkeeper Ruby de Frees has accumulated fifteen saves across two games, including ten stops against North Carolina.
On Maryland’s side, freshman Jordyn Hollamon leads her team offensively with three goals and nine shots on target through four games; defensively, Maryland has conceded just five goals so far this season.
For American University, senior Agustina Roffo tops their scoring chart with three goals while eight different players have found the net already this year—including ten goals scored collectively during their opener against William and Mary.
“Head Coach Scott Tupper returns to College Park, where he led the Terrapins to four NCAA appearances in four seasons as an assistant coach.”
For ongoing updates about Penn field hockey, information can be found on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or via their official website at PennAthletics.com.
