The Saint Joseph's field hockey team, ranked 20th in the NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, will play a pair of games this weekend, as the Hawks host Drexel on Friday and visit 16th-ranked Penn State on Sunday.

#20 Saint Joseph's vs. Drexel
Friday, September 3 • 3:00 p.m. • Ellen Ryan Field
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#20 Saint Joseph's at #16 Penn State
Sunday, September 5 • 3:00 p.m. • University Park, Pa.
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LAST TIME OUT: Saint Joseph's (1-1) opened its season with a split of the first two games, cruising past Fairfield, 4-0, in the opener last Friday before falling in a double overtime heartbreaker, 4-3, at #9 Maryland on Sunday...Four different Hawks found the net against the Stags as SJU scored twice in each of the first two quarters and Robin Bleekemolen posted a shutout in the cage for the season-opening win...Against the Terrapins, the Hawks came back from three separate one-goal deficits to force the extra frames before ultimately succumbing to a goal in the opening minute of the second overtime.

Drexel (0-2) dropped a pair of home games to start the season, and will play its first game away from Buckley Field on Friday...The Dragons fell to Longwood, 1-0, in their opener last Friday before dropping a 3-2 result to Temple on Sunday...Penn State (2-0) opened its campaign with a win at #8 Virginia last Friday...The Nittany Lions and Cavaliers traded goals during regulation, but it was Jemma Punch's goal four minutes into overtime that gave PSU the win...There was no such drama on Sunday, however, as the Nittany Lions trailed 2-1 after the first quarter but scored six unanswered goals to thrash William and Mary, 7-2.

LEADERS: All seven SJU goals have been scored by seven different players over the opening two games of the season...Cassidy Atchison, Manu Ghigliotti, and Freke van Tilburg have tallied a goal and an assist to tie for the team lead with three points...Bleekemolen has played the entirety of both games in the cage for the Hawks, posting a .714 save percentage and a 1.83 goals against average.

Hannah Nihill and Emily Owens each scored for the Dragons against Temple, while Eline Di Leva and Puk Thewessen added assists...Megan Hadfield played both games for Drexel, posting a 2.00 GAA to go with seven saves...Anna Simon leads Penn State with four goals, including a hat trick at William and Mary...Sophia Gladieux ranks second on the team with two goals and six points, while Mackenzie Allessie has tallied a team-leading three assists...Brie Baracco started both games in the cage for the Nittany Lions, turning in a .765 save percentage and a 2.05 GAA, while Lauren Delgado saw seven minutes of relief work against the Tribe.

ALL-TIME SERIES: The Hawks hold a 20-16-4 mark all-time against Drexel, having won the last five meetings between the two schools; SJU is 5-0 against the Dragons under head coach Lynn Farquhar...Penn State has won all nine meetings between the Hawks and Nittany Lions; PSU came away with a 6-1 victory in the last matchup between the two back in 2005.

NOTEWORTHY: Sunday's game against Penn State will be the second of eight games on the Hawk schedule that feature opponents ranked in the NFHCA's Preseason Poll...Nihill is also a member of Drexel's women's basketball team; she was the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference selection as the Dragons won the league title on the hardwood in 2021...The Nittany Lions are one of seven Big Ten teams to be ranked in the poll; the conference is home to three of the top four in the rankings (#2 Michigan, #3 Iowa, #4 Northwestern), while the Hawks will meet four of the seven this season (#9 Maryland, #15 Rutgers, #16 Penn State, #22 Ohio State).