Last year some considered it a fluke.
The women's soccer team made the road trip to Hanover, N.H., last season having not beaten Dartmouth since 1990 and without a win in Hanover since 1983.
But when then-freshman midfielder Alex Fiore connected on a cross from then-junior midfielder Julie Shaner four minutes, 52 seconds into overtime, the Tigers pulled out a 2-1 victory and broke the losing streak.
Now Dartmouth makes the trip south to Princeton to try to return the favor.
"Last year some people said we sort of snuck by them," junior defender and captain Kelly Sosa said. "Now we can prove that we really are the best team in the league."
Both squads come into Saturday's matchup with formidable records so far this season as Princeton (1-0 Ivy League) has gone undefeated at 4-0, including a convincing win over Ivy foe Yale, while Dartmouth (0-0 Ivy League) sits at 3-1 — its only loss at the hands of national power Nebraska.
Even keel
Both teams also have an athletic, exciting style of play and seem to be fairly evenly matched on paper.
"We both move the ball well and play well, so it's going to come down to the little things," head coach Julie Shackford said. "It'll be a hard-fought game."
In such a tightly-matched game, an early goal can make all the difference. Therefore it is the aim of the Tigers to take control of the tempo early.
"Taking control of the game early is important," Shaner said. "That's what we did against Yale, but we have to keep that intensity up for 90 minutes."
In that game against the Elis, Princeton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes, but the offense stagnated for the last 78 minutes and relied on the defense to prevent Yale from scoring.
"The defense needs to keep giving the offense chances and we're all going to have to play for the full 90 minutes," Sosa said. "We got away with not playing our best second half against Yale but we can't do that against Dartmouth."
Both teams will be relying on their defenses, as the Tigers boast one of the top units in the country — a group that has gone four games without allowing a goal.
Senior Jenny Lankford and Sosa anchor the defensive unit that has only allowed nine shots to reach the Tigers' goal this year. Senior goalie Jordan Rettig has remained sharp in net despite not being tested often and must have a solid outing for the Tigers to win.
"We're confident right now as a defense, but we know that we can improve," Sosa said. "We haven't played our perfect game yet."
Dartmouth counters Rettig with three-time All-Ivy goalkeeper Kristin Luckinbill, who had her first shutout of the season Wednesday night against Boston University. Luckinbill entered the season with a dominating record, having allowed an average of only 0.67 goals per game through her first three seasons in goal for the Big Green.
"We're going to have to work hard around the net to get the ball by her," Shackford said. "She's not going to give up any easy goals."
Luckinbill's prowess in goal will be a test for the Tiger offense that has dominated its opponents so far on the field. It has had trouble, though, showing that domination on the scoreboard. With the Tigers struggling to score against lesser competition the offense must step up its game to get Princeton past Luckinbill.
The main offensive threats for the Big Green will come in the form of sophomore Mary McVeigh and senior captain Jessica Post, who each scored five goals last year.
Both players have also come out quickly this year, having scored two goals apiece in Dartmouth's 9-1 early-season drubbing of Central Connecticut.
"When we step on the field we'll both know that this game can determine the Ivy League champ," Sosa said.
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