The University of Pennsylvania women’s lacrosse team will begin its Ivy League season on the road this weekend, facing Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire. The match is scheduled for Saturday, March 8 at noon and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Penn enters the game with a 1-3 record overall and has yet to play an Ivy League opponent this season. Dartmouth remains undefeated at 5-0, including a win in conference play.
The history between Penn and Dartmouth is close, with Penn leading the all-time series by just one game, 25-24. In their last meeting, Penn defeated Dartmouth 17-7 at Franklin Field. During that game, Eden Welch scored four goals—a personal best—and Erika Chung contributed four assists.
Penn has struggled on the road in this matchup historically, holding a 9-12 record when playing away against Dartmouth.
Recently, Penn finished a homestand with losses to Temple (14-9) and #13 Loyola Maryland (10-8). Junior Catherine Berkery was a standout during those games, scoring three goals in each contest and totaling seven points over the two matches. Freshman Mary Sack made an impact defensively by causing four turnovers and collecting five ground balls. Goalkeeper Orly Sedransk recorded 14 saves across both games, including eight against Loyola Maryland.
Berkery currently leads the team in both goals (13) and points (15) through three games. Sedransk has made 27 saves so far this season.
In preseason polls conducted by media members, Penn was predicted to finish second in the Ivy League for 2026. The team returns half of last year’s starting lineup: attacker Berkery; midfielder Lellie King; defenders Maggie Bankowski, Clare Ruff, and Natasha Yajadda; along with goalkeeper Sedransk.
Sedransk is expected to have a strong sophomore campaign after being named Third Team USA Lacrosse Preseason All-American and Inside Lacrosse Third Team Preseason All-American. She also appears on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Junior Maggie Bankowski has excelled in draw controls with 27 wins so far this year.
Dartmouth enters Saturday’s game following a victory over Harvard (17-10) that extended its winning streak to five games. Madeline Egan leads Dartmouth’s offense with 14 goals and 13 points across five contests. Charlotte Myers has contributed a team-high of 20 goals this season.
Penn will likely face Ruby Lucken as Dartmouth’s goalkeeper. Lucken holds a goals-against average of 6.06, a save percentage of .513, and has tallied 20 saves so far this year.
