Fight for title could be decided as w. soccer takes on Brown

It is a well-known saying that defense wins championships.

So far this season, the women's soccer teams from Brown and Princeton have taken steps toward proving this old adage true. The Tigers (8-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) have allowed only four goals in their first 10 games. The Bears have been even better, outscoring their opposition, 19-1, while compiling a perfect 9-0 record, including two league wins.

Tonight at Lourie-Love Field the two teams will square off not only to see which has the better defense, but also for the top spot in the battle for the Ivy championship.

"Brown has an athletic, strong team," head coach Julie Shackford said. "Our attackers are going to have to be smart and opportunistic."

Today is the one-month anniversary of the last time a team was able to get a shot past the Brown goaltending tandem of junior Mary Jo Markle and freshman Sarah Gervais. Since Gervais allowed that goal in a 2-1 win at Fairfield, the two have combined for five straight shutouts — Markle playing the first half of games and Gervais the second.

For the Tigers to break through this defense, they will need the strong play of their forwards. Princeton's front line is faster than the Brown defenders — a fact it must take advantage of if the Tigers are to get on the board early.

"Our forwards are going to have to isolate their defenders and beat them one-on-one," Shackford said. "We're going to need to use our speed to get chances."

Finishing those chances is going to be another story for both teams. While the Tigers have only scored 24 goals this season — an average of 2.4 a game — the Brown offense has been even less potent, putting an average of only 2.1 goals on the board per game.

This failure to convert can be overcome against inferior teams, but with teams as strong and evenly matched as the Tigers and Bears, chances are few and far between and must be taken advantage of.

"We want to put as much pressure on their end as possible," senior defender Jenny Lankford said.

While Brown seems to be kicking into gear as the heart of the Ivy season approaches, Princeton is struggling to take control of games early.

In the Spider Classic last weekend, Princeton fell behind host Richmond early after the Spiders notched two first-half goals en route to a 3-1 win.

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The Tigers rebounded with a 3-0 win over American, but came out slowly not scoring until the 65th minute before pouring it on with three goals in an 18-minute stretch.

"It's kind of an attitude thing right now," Lankford said. "We need to assert ourselves from the beginning and hopefully get an early goal."

The game will be a crucial battle for dominance at the top of the Ivy League as the Bears and Tigers are the only teams left undefeated in conference action. Brown knocked off last season's champion Harvard, 2-0, Sept. 23.

For the last couple of seasons, a perfect record in the league has been necessary to grab the title, a fact that might not be true this year with the parity in the league.

"Win or lose, we still have to keep going for the Ivy Championship," Lankford said. "This year no one team has really proved to be dominant."

The battle of the two unbeatens will be one of the most important games in the league this season, showing which team has the skills needed to come out on top.

"This is the defining game of our Ivy season," Lankford said. "We're similar teams, but we feel that we can show that we are the better team if we play well."

Win or lose, the Tigers will not be able to rest after facing the Bears as Princeton returns to Lourie-Love Field on Sunday at 3 p.m. to take on Boston University (8-4), a team that lost to Brown, 1-0, Sept. 10.

The real test of the weekend, however, will lie in the Brown game tonight — a game that could make or break the Tigers' hopes.