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Opening day of the 2026 NCAA Division I women's lacrosse season is Feb. 6.
Throughout the month of January, we'll pose three burning questions for each team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Division I Women's Preseason Top 20, presented by CWENCH Hydration, starting with No. 20 James Madison and finishing with No. 1 North Carolina.
Join the conversation on social media @USALMag (IG/X/FB). Wrong answers only.
Penn lost four games by one goal apiece in a 12-7 season last year. Its only one-goal wins came against Maryland, the second of which came in the second round of the NCAA tournament to earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
After back-to-back losses to Harvard and Yale, Penn won six of its next seven games and was runner-up in the Ivy League tournament.
The Quakers must replace significant graduation losses, including Anna Brandt — the Ivy Midfielder of the Year and the program’s first ever IWLCA Midfielder of the Year — program career assists leader Erika Chung and Ivy Defender of the Year Natasha Gorriaran. Four of their top five scorers graduated.
Karin Corbett’s team will rely on a young mix. Penn has just two seniors on its roster — defender Natasha Yajadda and attacker Patricia Columbia-Walsh. The last time the Quakers had just two seniors was 2012 when Erin Brennan and Emily Leitner helped Penn win the regular-season Ivy title. It certainly helps to have Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year Orly Sedransk back, too.
Penn graduated nine seniors, leaving the Quakers with far less experience this spring. It will put more pressure on Yajadda and Columbia-Walsh to lead, but they won’t be alone.
Penn also named a pair of juniors captains. Catherine Berkery is their top returning scorer, and Clare Ruff is an outstanding crease defender who started every game last year.
“I've always felt that strong teams have really strong juniors as well,” Corbett said. “So, I think they're doing a good job of working together, the two classes, and having more voices, more people lead and learn to lead.”
They will lead a group that invariably will be young. Penn will throw its freshmen and sophomores into the fire, but they’re confident after fall ball that they can handle it. They’ve been encouraged by the development of the likes of Lela Greene, who had seven goals and two assists last year as a freshman.
The midfield will be loaded with sophomores set to step up and freshmen looking to impress. The learning curve will be steep.
“We're going to be a completely different team come April just because they're young, and they have to learn how to win, and they have to learn how to take more risks,” Corbett said.
We're going to be a completely different team come April just because they're young, and they have to learn how to win, and they have to learn how to take more risks.
Karin Corbett
The Penn offense will look a lot different without four players — Brandt, Chung, Keeley Block and Gracie Smith — who accounted for 60 percent of all points. The Quakers expect a more balanced attack in 2026. Berkery had 41 goals last year, and she had 21 assists. Both those numbers could go up.
“She's a very confident kid,” Corbett said. “She was a cutter her freshman year, and then last year she definitely fed more and created more, and she's grown a lot this fall as well.”
Columbia-Walsh will also feed from X, and then there’s newcomer Olivia Nicoll. The freshman lefty from New Jersey can feed and drive and get defenders on their heels.
“We haven't had a challenger at X since Gabby Rosenzweig, and we do now,” Corbett said. “She's quick, and she's impressive with both hands and we're just excited for her.”
Regan O’Brien is back after scoring 15 goals, Kate Stanton returns from an injury that cut her season to three games, and freshman Millie Bartlett could contribute early. The Quakers have more dodgers than last year, and they feel good about their stable of fast, athletic, young midfielders.
“I think for us the key is, how quickly can they develop?” Corbett said. “How quickly can they learn and grow?”
Sedransk is ready for a big encore. She spent last her first fall at Penn tweaking her style to fit the college game. Then she went out and led all Division I freshmen in save percentage (.490). Penn’s save percentage ranked 10th nationally.
“She just gained confidence, which was so wonderful to see and she just played so strong,” Corbett said. “I think where she's grown the most is her consistency, as well as now she's talking on defense. And we're trying to also get a little more active outside the net, and she's been taking some risks with that.”
Last year, the emphasis was more on just being a great ball stopper. With that coming along so well, Penn is throwing more at her this year. She can help the defense more because she better understands the nuances of each defense and the calls to make.
That’s making her a more complete goalie and even more important part of the defense.
“She's just grown in her confidence and her maturity,” Corbett said. “I think that she's grown in so many ways. And she's a natural leader, so she is not afraid to use her voice and speak up.”
Justin Feil grew up in Central PA before lacrosse arrived. He was introduced to the game while covering Bill Tierney and Chris Sailer’s Princeton teams. Feil enjoys writing for several publications, coaching and running and has completed 23 straight Boston Marathons. Feil has contributed to USA Lacrosse Magazine since 2009 and edits the national high school rankings.
