Heavily-favored w. lacrosse heads to New York for Ivy game vs. Columbia

College students love to travel, and women's lacrosse is hoping to take a long ride this year — as far as they can go through the national tournament.

But you don't get a ticket to ride unless you first take a successful trip through your conference.

The Tigers began their season with a little sight-seeing. Ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll, Princeton paid friendly visits to all of the other top five teams, beating three of the four and improving to No. 2.

This week, they get down the business. Like so many Jersey commuters, they'll head to New York tomorrow, to take on Columbia at 4 pm.

The Tigers begin their Ivy League schedule with ample momentum, a healthy record including victories against three current Top 10 teams, and their No. 2 ranking.

After rolling past No. 12 Penn State this weekend, 17-8, the Tigers improved to 5-1 on the season. So far this year, they've beaten No. 4 Loyola, No. 5 Duke (which was No. 1 at the time), and No. 6 UVA, as well as a lackluster Lafayette.

The team's only loss, in its season opener, was an overtime close call at the hands of Georgetown, now ranked No. 1.

Princeton should certainly have little trouble when they take on the Lions (4-3, 0-2 Ivy) tomorrow. Columbia's victories were garnered against such storied lacrosse programs as Manhattan, Wagner, Bucknell, and St. Mary's. Its losses so far have included an embarrassing 14-1 rout at the hands of No. 9 Dartmouth on Sunday and an equally lopsided 16-4 defeat by No. 10 Cornell.

The Lions were also beaten by Cal-Berkeley, which squeaked by them 11-10.

On the season, Columbia has allowed 66 goals total while only scoring 54. The team has taken 149 shots while its opponents have fired away 188 times.

It shouldn't be a grueling workday for the Tigers tomorrow.

Unlike the Jersey commuters who can relax with their families on the weekend, though, the Tigers will have some more work to do on Saturday.

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They'll face a more potent foe than Columbia when Cornell comes to 1952 Stadium. The Big Red are unbeaten after edging out No. 18 Penn, 9-8, this past weekend.

Cornell's non-league schedule has not been nearly as rigorous as Princeton's, with only two ranked teams — Penn and No. 15 Notre Dame, whom the Big Red narrowly defeated 9-8.

Nonetheless, they will enter Saturday's game with a week of rest, a 5-0 record, and ample defensive talent. The Carnelian squad returns all but one starter from last year's defense, ranked No. 4 in the country at one point and including two All-American defenders and a goalkeeper once ranked No. 2 in the nation in goals against average.

Still, while the Big Red should be competitive — indeed not the cakewalk the Columbia game should be — Princeton still emerges the favorite in the matchup. At this early point in the season, the Tigers are looking strong.

Senior Kim Smith was named Offensive Player of the Week by IvyLeagueSports.com this week. Smith scored five goals in the first half of the Duke game. She also scored once against Penn, bringing her season total to 12 goals.

Another offensive standout this sason has been senior captain Lauren Simone, who netted six goals against Penn State.

On the other side of the ball, freshman goaltender Sarah Kolodner stands at 4-0 as a starter.

Overall, the statistics give a clear picture of the Tigers' strength. Shooting at .438 on the season, they've scored 84 goals total, and allowed only 52. They've taken 192 shots, while their opponents have managed only 121.

"We're playing very, very complete games right now," Simone said after the Penn State win.