Women's soccer opens Ivy season against rival Dartmouth

What happens when two teams that have not given up a goal in three combined games meet in the Ivy League opener?

Fans of both the Princeton (2-0) and Dartmouth (1-0) women's soccer teams will find out Sunday when the Big Green and the Tigers meet in Hanover, N.H. The game was previously supposed to take place last Saturday, but was rescheduled.

Last year's contest led to a 1-0 win for the Tigers, who went on to capture the league title. The game was the fifth-straight shutout for Princeton, a streak which stretched to eight games.

In the game, the Big Green overloaded the weak side of the Princeton defense, resulting in more chances deep in the Tiger half of the pitch. Played on a rain-soaked Lourie-Love field, lone goal was scored after the Dartmouth goalkeeper lost her footing.

"Over the last couple of years, the game has been very tight and we look forward to the first step in vying for the Ivy League Championship," head coach Julie Shackford said.

With Dartmouth having competed in only one game, a 3-0 win over Boston College, it is somewhat difficult to determine exactly what kind of matchups will decide this contest.

Princeton has been equally untested, coasting to wins over both Iowa State, 5-0, and Lehigh, 6-0.

The early indications, however, point to a showdown between two individual stars on the offense for the Big Green and the outstanding individual defense of the Tigers.

In Dartmouth's season opener, junior midfielder Mary McVeigh tallied an assist on each of the Big Green's goals. Her classmate Anne Gibson was the recipient of two McVeigh passes, recording two scores against the Eagles.

On the other side, the Princeton defense has been highly effective this young season. Dartmouth, however, presents a strong challenge for the individual network style of defense displayed by the Tigers.

The Princeton defense relies on individual matchups across the field to, according to junior midfielder Alex Fiore, "translate to no goals."

"We will look to our depth and individual talent to set the tone for the game," Shackford said.

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The fact that Princeton has talent down the full length of the bench has been one of the most important aspects of the team's success early this season.

The Tigers were able to put fresh players on the field at almost all position with little or no drop in performance. Whether or not the Princeton bench, especially the defensive substitutes, can be effective may be a deciding factor.

Just like in the first two games, Tiger freshmen will probably carry much of the load on Sunday as well.

As opposed to the Dartmouth attack, which has been keyed by two juniors, Princeton relies on speed and ball control of a group of freshmen who direct the transition from defense to offense.

Freshmen accounted for three goals against both the Cyclones and the Mountain Hawks.

Freshman defender Rochelle Willis, a standout in the Tigers' most recent win over Lehigh, will most likely be responsible not only for halting the Dartmouth offense, but also in setting up Princeton's response.

In addition to scoring a goal of her own in Wednesday night's win, Willis frequently brought the ball in the opponents half of the field, smoothing the transition between defense and offense.

Once the ball is on Dartmouth's half, look for a group of Tigers to make an impact. Freshmen forwards Esmeralda Negron and Kristina Fontanez already have NCAA goals under their belts. Junior forwards Joan Cundey and Krista Ariss and sophomore Theresa Sherry add experience and extra scoring punch to the Tiger attack.

Really though, much of this game will be an exploration of new territory for both teams. With both teams posting shutouts in their first games, it would be all too easy to bill this as a primarily defensive battle. The Tigers and the Big Green have also featured swift and opportunistic offenses in their wins, however.

"The Dartmouth game will be a great test, especially so early in the season," Shackford said.