No. 3 Maryland, Columbia on plate for streaking field hockey

Watch out, field hockey, the train's coming through.

That train is No. 3 Maryland (9-0), which has won all nine of its games this season. The No. 10 Tigers (4-1) travel to College Park, Md., to do battle against the undefeated Terrapins this evening.

Maryland has outscored its opponents, 52-4, which includes a 5-1 victory over Harvard, Princeton's main competition for the Ivy League title this year.

The game will serve as a break from league competition for both teams. On Sunday, each will return to its regular season with important league matchups — the Tigers will be playing Columbia, while Maryland will be taking on No. 1-ranked Wake Forest.

The Tigers face their toughest challenge of the season so far tonight, and already it seems that Maryland has a huge advantage.

The Terrapins have dominated their nine opponents this season in almost every way imaginable.

"[Maryland] has good players all over the field," junior attack Lizzie Black said. "They have no weak links. They're a skilled, disciplined team."

The Terps have controlled the action in their games, keeping their opponents trapped on the other side of the field. As proof of this fact, Maryland has only allowed 36 shots on goal to its opponents, while taking 219 shots of its own.

Maryland's offense is well-balanced, boasting a unit of five dangerous scorers. Five of its attackers have eight or more goals. Freshman Paula Infante, a recruit from Chile, leads the pack with 11 goals.

The Tigers will attempt to match up against the Terrapins with a similarly-balanced young attack. Princeton has only played in five games so far this year and is still working out the nuances of its game plan. The Tigers' last game, a 5-1 win over Dartmouth, was a promising sign of development under new head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn.

In their win over Dartmouth, the Tigers baffled the Big Green offense, displaying dominance by keeping Dartmouth from taking a shot in the first half.

"We had a really good passing game versus Dartmouth," Black said. "We also had really good weak-side recovery, and that will be key against Maryland."

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Whether the Tigers can perform similarly against a top-team like Maryland remains to be seen.

A team to beat

Tonight's game will be a good indicator of how Princeton will do if it makes it to the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Tigers dominated Ivy League play but played like a different team against their skilled, non-league competition.

Though a non-conference game, it still has considerable weight for both squads, factoring in national rankings. And, of course, pride is at stake.

"The game against Maryland has always been a good game for us," Black said. "They're one of those teams you want to beat."

On Sunday, Princeton will return to Ivy League action against Columbia (0-6), which seems to be the polar opposite of Maryland.

The haphazard Lions have only managed two goals in their six games so far, while allowing 20 to their opponents.

After going 0-7 last season, little has changed for Columbia, aside from losing six of their starters.

Meeting expectations

A Tiger victory over Columbia will be expected by most experts, but this means little when the Tigers take the field.

No game can be taken lightly in this year's Ivy League race, where one loss will most likely make the difference between an Ivy League title and second place.

Princeton will gladly take the opportunity to further tune the precision attack and flow game plan against Columbia.

This weekend's matchups will give the Tigers competition on both ends of the skill spectrum. Luckily for Princeton, its game against an undefeated Maryland squad will not factor into its quest for a tenth-consecutive Ivy League title, while its game against winless Columbia will.