PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's soccer team has taken nine points from nine in three home matches so far in 2021, including shutouts in each of the last two victories. Both of those streaks are on the line this weekend as the Quakers host city rival Villanova on Thursday night before welcoming Rice University to Rhodes Field on Sunday to conclude this three-match homestand. The Wildcats and the Owls enter the weekend with a combined record of 12-2-1.
 
MATCH DAY 7: Villanova at Penn
Thursday, Sept. 16 | 6 p.m.
Video Stream (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Spectator COVID Attestation (starts on 9/16)
 
MATCH DAY 8: Rice at Penn
Sunday, Sept. 19 | 2:30 p.m.
Video Stream (ESPN+) | Live Stats | Spectator COVID Attestation (starts on 9/19)
 
Ivy League on ESPN
A reminder that the Ivy League is paired with ESPN and you will be able to find all Penn home games, as well as road Ivy matches and select non-conference road games, on ESPN+ this fall with the same high broadcast quality you've come to expect. ESPN+ is a subscription-based service that offers monthly and yearly packages. Click here to subscribe to ESPN+!
 
The Series with Villanova
This is the first meeting between these city rivals in a decade. The last meeting took place in 2011 at what is now Subaru Park, home of MLS's Philadelphia Union. Penn won that match, 1-0; In fact, the Red and Blue have won the last two after going 0-11-1 from 1991-2008.
 
About Villanova
The Wildcats are 6-1-0 this season. With seven goals and 17 points already this season, Chloe O'Neill is certainly a player Penn will be aware of. Three other players have scored twice this season: Lauren Belcuore, Reagan Smith and Brice McInroy. Overall, eight different players have already scored for Nova in 2021.
 
The Series with Rice
The Quakers and the Owls have met just once before. That came in 2006, also on Rhodes Field, and the teams played to a 0-0 draw.
 
About Rice
The Owls (6-1-1) are coming off their first loss of the season, a 1-0 decision to SMU. The tie came against Texas, 1-1. Rice—which has ranked as high as No. 19 in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) national poll this season—has a game with UTEP in hand before making the trip to Philadelphia.
 
Quaker Notemeal
*Senior Mia Shenk scored the Quakers' first three goals in Sunday's 4-0 win over George Washington that started this homestand. The natural hat trick took just 19:31 of match time and was the 15th hat trick in program history and the first since 2011.
 
*Shenk's first and second goals came just 33 seconds apart. Only once before have two Penn goals been scored in less time: on Nov. 1, 2000 when Ayla Gustafson scored two goals 25 seconds apart against Lehigh.
 
*Freshman Janae Stewart had Penn's other goal last Sunday, as she cleaned up Sizzy Lawton's sizzler that hit the crossbar. It was eerily similar to three days earlier, when Stewart was the one banging a long-range missile off the post and senior Abbey Duncan was scoring on the rebound for the goal in Penn's 1-1 draw at Maryland.
 
*On September 5, Penn was level with No. 25 Hofstra at the half up on Long Island, but the Pride scored two second-half goals to pin the Quakers with their only loss of 2021.
 
*Sophomore Lauren Teuschl is just behind Shenk on the scoresheet this season, with seven points (2g/3a). The Quakers' other goal scorers this season are Duncan, fellow senior Jackie Bruder (vs. UIC), and sophomores Madison Liebman (at Hofstra) and Ginger Fontenot (at Temple).
 
*Penn named three captains for the 2021 season prior to the opener. Senior JoJo Cotto and juniors Emily Pringle and Peyton Raun lead the Quakers.
 
*Raun is one of two players who received honorable mention All-Ivy recognition in 2019, the other being Lawton.
 
*A reminder that the four-year seniors on the team—Bruder, Cotto, Duncan, Shenk, Lucy Kellogg and Allie Schachter—were members of Penn's last Ivy League championship squad, in 2018.
 
*If you cross paths with Penn assistant coach Becky Edwards, congratulate her on the August 18 announcement that she will be inducted into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame later this year.