Parity reigns in league as women's lacrosse starts Ivy schedule at Cornell

With six Ivy League games in four weeks, the women's lacrosse team has its hands full. After an easy 18-3 win over Columbia Tuesday night, the No. 4 Tigers begin their stint against the other nationally-ranked Ivy League teams.

Although Princeton (6-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) and Dartmouth (3-1, 1-1) have traditionally dominated the league, parity is creeping into the conference and each game is becoming a test for the Tigers.

Princeton faces Cornell tomorrow in Ithaca, N.Y. One of the top Ivy League teams, Cornell (6-0, 2-0) is ranked 14th in the nation. Aver-aging 11 goals a game in the Ivy League, the undefeated Big Red beat Columbia, 12-5, March 17 and Penn, 10-5, March 23.

Throughout the season, Cornell has put up big offensive numbers, averaging 13 goals a game. With wins over Rutgers and Penn State, Cornell has proven itself to be a solid team with a strong offense. Beating Penn State, 15-6, Cornell had a much easier time with the Nittany Lions than Princeton did. Penn State made a late rush against the Tigers before junior attack Kim Smith scored two goals in the final 90 seconds to bring the Tigers back from behind and clinch a 10-9 win.

The Tigers will be on the road April 7 against Yale. Another undefeated team early in this season, the Elis are 2-0 in the Ivy League and 6-0 overall. Relying more on a strong defense, Yale has allowed only 34 goals all season, giving up only 5.7 a game. Despite a light early-season schedule, the Elis beat 13th-ranked and defending Ivy champion Dartmouth last Saturday, 13-7.

Yale, currently No. 15 in the nation, expects to move up in the rankings after its upset of the Big Green.

In what should be an exciting game, Princeton needs to continue with its strong attack to overcome Yale and stay atop the Ivy League race early in the season.

The Tigers will have their second home Ivy League matchup of the season when Harvard marches into 1952 Stadium April 14. Right now, Harvard is 0-1 in the league, but 3-2 overall. Picking up wins against Massachusetts, 9-8, on March 10 and then nationally-ranked Boston College, 14-11, on March 14, Harvard has shown ability to beat some of the nation's top teams.

The Crimson then hit a roadblock as their scoring output fell dramatically against Notre Dame, losing 8-3, and continued with a setback against Brown, 11-5. The Tigers have the ability to shut down the Harvard offense, and Princeton's attack is fully capable of dominating the Crimson defense.

Going on the road for a mid-week game, the Tigers face Penn on April 18. After a weak start, the Quakers have played two straight overtime games, splitting the two contests. Winless in the league, Penn has dropped games to the Elis and Big Red so far this season. The offense has been key for the Quakers as they have averaged 12 goals in the two games that they won, but only four goals in the five games that they lost.

Penn has been mediocre on the other side of the ball. The Quaker defense is giving up nearly seven goals a game.

Three days after playing Penn, the Tigers head to Hanover, N.H. for their annual showdown with No. 13 Dartmouth.

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In what has traditionally been the showdown for the Ivy League championship, Dartmouth got the better of the Tigers last year, coming back from a 13-10 deficit in the final minute and handing Princeton a tough loss, 16-13 in overtime. The setback cost the Tigers the league title.

Once again, Dartmouth should the toughest competition that the Tigers face for another Ivy League championship. Dartmouth dominated New Hampshire earlier this season, beating it 13-4, but had to go to triple overtime to beat Boston University, 9-8.