There is only one Div. I women's soccer team in the nation that remains both unbeaten and untied — Princeton. With just a half-dozen games left to play, a perfect season is well within the Tigers' reach, as they are capable of beating all of the teams they have left to play.
The key for Princeton (11-0-0, 4-0-0 Ivy), currently ranked No. 17 nationally in the coaches' poll and No. 9 by Soccerbuzz.com, will be remembering not to underestimate its opponents, beginning with Brown, which comes to Lourie-Love Field tomorrow afternoon.
The Bears are clearly the underdog going into tomorrow's game. Their 5-5-2 overall record (0-2-1 Ivy League) puts them in a last-place tie with Columbia in the conference. But Brown has managed to keep the scores of all of its games very close, even when playing more talented teams, and many of its losses have been at the last minute.
For instance, despite being outshot 19-6 by Harvard, Brown managed to keep the Crimson off the scoreboard until the 71st minute of play, when Harvard scored to win the game.
Similarly, against Dartmouth, the Bears played with the Big Green through two overtime periods. Dartmouth finally scored the gamewinner with just 54 seconds left in double overtime.
Most recently, the Bears lost a heartbreaker Tuesday night to No. 22 Hartford. Brown's Laura Iden — who leads the Bears with three goals and three assists on the season — netted the first goal of the game late in the first half to put Brown up 1-0.
Hartford tied things up at 62:34, and although Brown was unable to break the tie, its defense managed to keep the Hawks from scoring again, sending the Bears into their fifth overtime period of the season. Hartford scored with 32 seconds left in the first overtime to win the game.
Once again, Brown was heavily outshot by its opponent — in this case 22-7 — but managed to remain competitive and keep the score under control.
This suggests that, while the Bears should be no match for the Tigers tomorrow, Brown's defense could be pesky for Princeton, making it difficult for the Tigers' outstanding offensive attack to find the net.
Brown's defense has been strengthened recently by freshman midfielder Kim LaVere, who has moved back into the sweeper position. The Bears' goalie, junior Sarah Gervais, has allowed 1.15 goals against average, which seems to pale in comparison to Princeton's junior goalie Jean Poster, who leads the Ivy League with a 0.47 GAA. But considering that Gervais is facing a lot more shots, her .857 save percentage is not too shabby.
After suffering heavy losses to graduation in 2001, Brown has never really been able to build up its offensive attack. But so far this season the Bears have demonstrated that while they cannot always pull out a win, they can usually make things difficult for their opponents. That said, the Tigers should be up for any challenge that Brown presents. Princeton's airtight defensive line should have no troubles keeping the Bears from scoring, and if the Tiger offense comes out as aggressively as it has been so far this season, Princeton can maintain its perfect record for at least another day.
The Tiger offense has been led this season by sophomore forwards Esmeralda Negron and Kristina Fontanez. Negron, this week's Ivy League Player of the Week, ECAC Div. I Player of the Week, and a Soccerbuzz.com National Elite Team of the Week selection, leads the team with seven goals, and is second in the Ivy League.
Fontanez is right behind her, and fourth in the Ivies, with five goals on the season.
In addition, freshmen midfielders Emily Behncke and Maura Gallagher have made strong contributions to the team in their first year of play. Both have garnered Ivy Rookie of the Week honors so far this season, and Behncke was recently named Ivy Player of the Week.
After taking on Brown Saturday, the Tigers will have a week off before meeting Harvard. At some point, Princeton will also look to reschedule its match-up against Mid-Atlantic rival Villanova, which was scheduled for Wednesday but cancelled due to inclement weather.
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