After a tough, season-opening loss to Ohio, Princeton was able to reestablish its dominance with three easy games against weak Ivy League opponents. That smooth ride is about to come to a screeching halt.
Princeton (3-1 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) will be hosting two of the top five teams in the nation this weekend in a couple of games that will let the Tigers know if they are national championship material.
No. 1 Maryland (8-1) invades Class of 1952 Stadium Friday night, and fifth-ranked Michigan State (8-1) will do the same Sunday.
The game against the Terrapins is a big one for the team's seniors, as they have never beaten Maryland in their three-plus years here at Princeton.
The Tigers are catching them at a good time as Maryland has found itself in a bit of a lull as of late. They clawed their way to a 1-0 win over Boston University and followed that with a 3-1 win over Delaware, a 2-1 overtime loss to No. 3 Wake Forest and a tough 1-0 win over Virginia Commonwealth. Against teams such as Boston University and Virginia Commonwealth, it is surprising that Maryland had such difficulty scoring goals.
The Tigers come in after playing well for three straight games. After dropping to Ohio in which the three senior captains did not play, Princeton has generated dominant performances against Yale, Columbia, and Dartmouth. The Tigers outscored their opponents 22-2 during those three games.
Another advantage the Tigers have is experience. Maryland has six new starters from last year's Final Four team. However, the rookies have barely missed a beat.
The Terrapins may also take the Tigers lightly, considering Princeton's very low ranking in the STX/NFHCA poll released on Tuesday. Princeton was at No. 15.
"That was a ridiculous ranking," senior attack and co-captain Ilvy Friebe said. "I don't think they realize that we were No. 3 at the end of last year and that we lost nobody from that team."
In order to beat Maryland, Princeton will have to take advantage of its main asset — team speed. The Tigers will need to create spacing on the field and quickly attack the Terrapin defense.
The Tigers also need to get offensive production from the attackers. If head coach Beth Bozman is forced to send her midfielders and defenders up to help score, Maryland is very capable of burning the Tigers at the other end in transition.
"Our plan is to attack from the beginning," Friebe said. "Our forwards really have to put on the pressure so that our defenders can stay back."
Michigan St. comes to Princeton feeling confident about the way it has been playing. The Spartans are on an eight-game winning streak after they dropped their opening game in overtime to Old Dominion. They do play Penn St. tonight before traveling to Princeton.
Unlike facing the Terrapins, with whom the Tigers are very familiar, nobody on the Princeton squad has ever matched up with the Spartans.
One of the keys to beating Michigan State will be for Princeton to convert more penalty corners into goals. The Tigers have not been able to generate good scoring chances from these free shots and that is something they must take advantage of as the competition gets tougher.
The Tigers' cakewalk through the rest of the Ivy League is coming to a temporary halt, and it is a chance to show that their No. 15 ranking is simply a slap in the face of the Princeton program.
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