With league title on the line, w. lax travels to Dartmouth

Princeton. Dartmouth. Princeton. Dartmouth/Princeton. Dartmouth. Dartmouth. Dartmouth. Dartmouth/Princeton. Princeton.

The sheer repetition is impressive. Since 1994, only two schools have won the women's lacrosse Ivy League title — Princeton has won three outright titles, Dartmouth has won four and the schools have shared two. The names and faces of the players have changed, but for the last 10 seasons the Ivy League champions have resided in either New Hampshire or New Jersey, and the late-season contest between the two squads has decided which it would be.

"We always expect them to be a strong team. We're two teams who have had a lot of consistency over the last 10 years," head coach Chris Sailer said. "It's a game we get really excited for and there's usually a lot riding on it."

This season much is the same. Princeton (9-4 overall, 5-1 Ivy League) and Dartmouth (9-2, 6-0) still represent the crème de la crème of the Ivy League, but this time it is not simply a ménage a deux. Upstart Yale (10-3, 5-1) complicated the Ivy picture with its victory over the Tigers a few weeks ago, so it is still very much a three-horse race for the championship.

But it is a race in which Dartmouth is holding the reins. The Big Green host Princeton this Saturday in their final Ivy game of the season secure in the knowledge that a win will give them outright ownership of the title.

The Tigers cannot win the championship outright, but will be well on their way to a piece of it if they manage to down Dartmouth this weekend. Princeton's lone remaining Ivy game is against mediocre Brown on May 2.

But defeating Dartmouth will by no means be an easy task. The Big Green boast the current Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week in freshman goaltender Devon Wills. Wills made 10 saves in Dartmouth's win over Penn last Saturday to keep her team undefeated and earn her third Defensive Player of the Week award. The freshman has started all 11 of the Big Green's games this season and has been instrumental in her team's success. "Their goalie is great," Sailer said. "She's a freshman and she's given them a lot of support throughout the season."

In their 7-6 loss to Yale April 12, the Tigers out-shot their opponents but missed the net or failed to locate their shots precisely at crucial times. Princeton needs to bring the accuracy of a sharpshooter in Saturday's contest, though doing so is easier said than done against a goalkeeper like Wills.

The Tigers have their own brick wall in sophomore goalie Sarah Kolodner. In fact, Kolodner's .528 save percentage is almost identical to Wills' .529.

While the offense tries to make life difficult for Wills, Kolodner and the rest of the defense will have their hands full with the Big Green's talented attack.

"I think they have a lot of threats," Sailer said. "[Lana] Smith is excellent and [Katieanne] Christian is also a big threat, and the kids around the crease are playing great this season."

Smith, a midfielder, leads her team with 25 goals and 11 assists. She has had a hand in roughly a third of Dartmouth's 101 goals this year, and shutting her down will take a big bite out of the Big Green's attack.

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Christian and Whitney Jamison round out Dartmouth's top three scorers. Jamison is particularly dangerous around the crease and is a threat either to roll and take the ball herself or to thread it inside to a teammate.

The Tigers will need their usual big performers to have solid games. The young team has been gaining experience all season, and three of Princeton's top six scorers are underclassmen. The sophomore trio of midfielder Elizabeth Pillion and attackers Leigh Slonaker and Lindsey Biles will have to play important roles if the Tigers want to win a share of their sixth Ivy title. "We're excited to have the chance to control our own destiny," Sailer said. "If we win and then we beat Brown we'll definitely have a share of the title."