Overcoming one's personal desires to adhere to the tenets of fairness and competition is crucial for good sportsmanship. Thus in the event of a loss, the losing team is supposed to shake its heads ruefully, acknowledge the victors' superior play, and take the match as a lesson.
To take a loss too personally is an affront to the game, so sayeth the conventional wisdom.
For the Princeton field hockey game against Brown this Saturday, that conventional wisdom is about to be tossed out the window. When the game kicks off at 1 p.m., the Tigers will be out for blood, and for several reasons.
Two years ago, the Tigers were on a rampage. The winners of thirty-five consecutive conference wins and five straight Ivy titles, Princeton seemed invincible.
Then, on October 9, 1999, Princeton's streak was ended by an impetuous Brown team, 2-1, taking the Ivy lead from the Tigers for the first time in ages.
This Saturday will be an opportunity to redress that defeat.
"You don't forget something like that," junior attack Rachael Becker said. "They really beat us. This time we're going to go up there and show them what we can do, play as a team."
In addition, by winning this Saturday, Princeton can consolidate its present lead in the Ivy standings. Brown, along with Harvard, is thought to have the best shot at challenging the Tigers this year for the championship. By defeating them, Princeton could take a giant step towards attaining that title.
In a way, except for the Ivy-league games, the Tigers' season is merely practice for the NCAA Tournament. Only the winner of the Ancient Eight is given a berth in the national tournament, so a team could conceivably lose all of its out-of-conference games and still make the NCAA's.
Winning non-Ivy games does, though, affect national rankings, which, in turn, affect seeding for the Tournament.
Princeton, having fallen two spots to seventh in the nation after a surprise loss to Penn State, is right on the cusp of having home field advantage during the early rounds of the national tournament. Thus, every game is important, a point that head coach Beth Bozman tries especially hard to place an emphasis.
"The Ivy League champ is usually undefeated," said Becker. "So if we lose, it's going to be a lot harder to win the championship."
Defeating Brown would also make a statement about Princeton's stolid morale. The loss to Penn State was shocking, not only because the Nittany Lions were ranked seventeenth to the Tigers' fifth, but because the Princeton had recently proven its mettle by upsetting last year's champion Old Dominion. By winning, the Tigers can prove to their detractors that the Penn State loss does was an aberration.
"It was a rough game, and things didn't click," said junior Beckie Wood. "But I think as a team we've pretty much moved on."
For reasons both past and present, tomorrow's game promises to be among the most vital of all the intra-Ivy matchups. Brown will try to contain junior Ilvy Friebe, Princeton's star offensive player. Friebe leads the nation in goals, goals per game, points, and points per game, and is sometimes double and even triple-teamed when she has the ball.
"[Ilvy]'s a great player," said Wood. "She gets double teamed almost every game, and she still manages to be an incredible offensive force."
Given the opportunity, the Tigers should be able to prevail. Despite faltering at points recently, the team possesses an overwhelming amount of talent. By beating Brown , Princeton gains self-confidence, respect, and comes one step closer to the Ivy League championship and thus the NCAA Tourney.
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