US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20 on Dec. 17. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February.

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No. 9 Penn

2019 Record: 12-6 (5-2, Ivy League)
Coach: Karin Corbett (21st year)
Assistants: Kerri Whitaker, Nicole Troost, Amy Coffey

All-Time Record: 229-115
NCAA Appearances: 15
Final Fours: 3
Championships: 0

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
March 7

Family bragging rights are on the line in this top-20 battle. The All-American and Tewaaraton nominee Rosenzweig sisters — Gabby, seventh in the country in scoring for Penn last year, and Livy, fifth in the country in scoring for Loyola — face each other for the first time in an official game.

Quakers’ Loaded Offense Returns Entirely Intact​ 

Penn did not lose a single goal scorer to graduation from last year’s team that posted the program’s third-highest goals per game in a season. Naturally, the Quakers expect to be even more dynamic this year.

“My best teams have had a balance on the attack, a lot of kids who can score,” Corbett said. “We do better in that way, because we haven’t had the best attacker in the country ever. You can’t rely on one kid for us. I don’t think we’ve ever been our best with that.”

Penn’s 2008 team that reached the NCAA championship game had seven players with at least 11 goals. Last year’s Quakers had eight players with at least 13 goals, and they’re all back, led by the top three of Gabby Rosenzweig, Zoe Belodeau and Erin Barry.

“I’m excited that we can run a lot of offenses for different kids and not just hone in on those three, which we’ve done a lot over the last couple years,” Corbett said. “I feel really good that we’ll have more threats than we’ve ever had. There’s not just a role player on the attack who can’t put the ball in the net.”

Penn anticipates having more opportunities to score if it can take better care of the ball. The Quakers had a program-worst 265 turnovers a year ago.

“I was very upset about that,” Corbett said. “We’re hoping to be cleaner with the ball in transition. That’s a big key that hurt us last year. I’m pleased to have a couple midfielders [Abby Bosco and Ellen O’Callaghan] on the defensive end that have good sticks.”

Corbett is counting on fewer turnovers and mistakes out of the Quakers because they should be fresher. Penn has more depth than ever thanks to a freshman class of 11.

“This class is one of the best that I’ve ever had,” Corbett said. “Not all of them are going to play, but their work ethic is excellent. They hold themselves to a very high standard. They have a lot of responsibility, a lot of accountability to themselves and the team. They really work on their game.”

The freshmen add to an overall lacrosse IQ that has grown in the program. Being able to respond to different defenses should make the Penn attack even more potent.

“I have more kids that really understand a zone,” Corbett said. “That means on the attacking side, they have the game sense to play in a zone, where we haven’t had that many that get that before. It’s a game sense thing, and I’m excited about that. We have a lot of different weapons.”

Projected Starters

A – Zoe Belodeau – Jr. – 42 G, 57 DC
A – Laura Crawford – Jr. – 13 P, 40.6 S%
A – Gabby Rosenzweig – Sr. – 35 G, 63 A
A – Taylyn Stadler – So. – 26 G, 66.7 FP%
M – Erin Barry – Sr. – 43 P, 17 CT
M – Elyse Decker – Jr. – 21 G, 72.3 SOG%
M - Michaela McMahon – So. -  25 P, 20 GB
D – Abby Bosco – Jr. – 54 GB, 22 CT
D – Chelsea Kibler – Sr. – 68 DC, 23 CT
D – Ellen O’Callaghan – So. – 5 GB, 5 CT
D – Liv Smith – Jr. – 20 GB, 7 CT
G – Mikaila Cheeseman – Sr. – 10.65 GAA, 45.8 SV%

Tewaaraton Watch
Gabby Rosenzweig, A, Sr.

Rosenzweig broke her own school single-season records for points (98) and assists (63) and could put herself in Tewaaraton contention if she leads Penn deep in the NCAA tournament.

X Factor
Abby Bosco, D, Jr.

A second-team All-Ivy selection in the midfield, Bosco moves back to defense to fill a need after the graduation of Katy Junior and Lauren O’Mara. Bosco led the Quakers and ranked first in the Ivies in ground balls, was second on the team in caused turnovers and third in draw controls.

National Rankings

13

Penn has qualified for the last 13 NCAA tournaments. It’s the fifth-longest active streak in the country behind only Maryland, Virginia, Northwestern and North Carolina. The Quakers last missed the NCAA tournament in 2006.

Enemy Lines

“They’re always tough. Karin is going to have a good squad year in and year out. They were young last year, and they were pretty good. They lost to tough teams, but they were pretty close, so they’re going to be really tough.”