In virtual championship game, field hockey matches up against Harvard

While the bulk of the student body will be at home or on vacation over fall break, the field hockey team will be doing anything but relaxing as it tries to improve on a pair of season records: 4-0 in conference and 3-5 out of conference.

The Tiger's unblemished Ivy League mark will be tested twice in the next week. Harvard visits Class of 1952 Stadium tomorrow before the Tigers travel to Ithaca to face Cornell.

Princeton, which jumped two spots to No. 14 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll Tuesday, has lost one Ivy League game since 1993 and has won eight straight conference titles.

Senior attack Ilvy Friebe once again leads the team, scoring 20 of the team's 55 goals this season. Junior midfield Claire Miller, sophomore midfield Natalie Martirosian, and freshman attack Ashley Sennett are the next highest scorers with six goals each. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Baril has given up 21 goals in 12 games.

But the road to the ninth-straight conference title will not be easy. The first of their quartet of opponents in the next 10 days is the Crimson, ranked right on Princeton's heels at No. 15. A Wednesday night double-overtime loss to No. 18 Boston College dropped Harvard to 9-4 overall, but their 4-0 Ivy record makes this showdown with Princeton the most important game of the season to date for both squads. The winner is in the driver's seat in the conference.

Junior midfield Kate McDavitt (11 goals), senior forward Philomena Gambale (7), and junior forward Mina Pell (6) lead the squad in scoring and combine for nearly 65% of the Crimson's total offensive output of 37 goals. Harvard's best asset may be junior goalkeeper Katie Zacarian who has allowed just 14 goals in 13 games.

On Tuesday the Tigers will take on the Big Red in New York, a team looking for their own piece of the Ivy crown. If Princeton defeats the Crimson, then Cornell (9-5 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) could move into a three-way tie for first in the conference with a victory on their home turf over the Tigers.

The Big Red, however, does not have the same offensive punch that Harvard boasts. Junior midfield Lindsay Grace and junior back Kimmy Gardner lead the team with five goals each, and Cornell has scored ten less goals (27) than its Boston rivals. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlin Tierney has given up 17 goals in their 14 games.

Because their non-conference record is a mediocre 3-5, the Tigers will most likely not receive an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament and will therefore have to win the Ivy title in order to qualify for the postseason.

Though a free bid based on their non-Ivy play is all but out of the picture, Princeton will have two more chances for tuneups against ranked non-conference opponents before the tournament begins three weekends from now.

The Tigers travel to Norfolk, VA at the end of fall break to take on Old Dominion Nov. 1 and North Carolina Nov. 3. The Lady Monarchs (14-2) are the No. 1 team in the country, dwarfing Princeton with 93 goals scored and just 15 allowed. Despite an 8-8 record and a less-than-impressive 34 goals scored to 27 against, the Tar Heels are ranked No. 9 thanks to a difficult schedule.

With only a game against Penn remaining on the schedule after fall break, the Tigers will need to make it a productive vacation if they want to make a run at the national title.