Women's hockey travels to Union after inconsistent homestand

The No. 9 women's hockey team will look to start another winning streak this weekend, as they travel to New York for back-to-back games against Union.

The team previously had a five-game winning streak, stretching back to before Winter Break, that included a surprise victory over No. 2 Harvard on Friday. Ultimately, the streak came to an end in a disappointing and shocking loss to Brown in Princeton last Saturday.

Both games this weekend are important, as the season is beginning to wind down, and Princeton (12-7-0 overall, 5-4-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) is looking for a high finish in the ECAC.

Union (3-20-0, 0-8-0) should provide two easy wins for the Tigers, as the Dutchwomen try to get their season on track. Up to this point, Union has lost 12 in a row and some losses from the season include a blowout 13-0 loss to Harvard and an 11-0 loss to Dartmouth.

Games are not played on paper, however, so Princeton must not overlook weaker opponents such as Union.

The Dutchwomen's offense should be easy to shut down. Union has scored only two goals in their past four games and has only scored more than four goals twice this season. Combine this with the prowess of Tiger senior goalie Megan Van Beusekom, and Princeton can't help but feel confident.

Van Beusekom is the backbone of the Tiger defense, accumulating a solid 9-6-0 record on the year, giving up less than two goals a game on average. She was also named to the ECAC Honor Roll for her performances last week. Sophomore goalie Roxanne Gaudiel is responsible for the other three Princeton wins, as she receives playing time in the net as well and may see some this weekend.

The rest of the Tiger defense will make it their mission to allow as few shots as possible, thereby taking much of the pressure off Van Beusekom, who often shoulders a lot of it. A case in point was in Princeton's impressive victory over Harvard last Friday — Van Beusekom was forced to make 36 saves. Although she allowed only three goals, the high number of shots has to be a worry for head coach Jeff Kampersal '92. In the loss against Brown, the Tigers were unable to overcome the 37 shots on goal that the Bears took, compared to Princeton's 28. Having a decided edge in the number of shots on goal will be a huge focus for the team this weekend.

Not having this edge is unusual for the Tigers, as the team frequently out-shot its opponents early in the season. This stat can be credited for much of their success. Losing that edge would be very detrimental.

The offense will look to improve on its one-goal performance against Brown. The Tigers hope to resemble the offense that scored six goals against Harvard and has scored four or more goals in four of their last six games. This should not be too difficult against a less-talented Union defensive front that frequently gives up more than six goals a game.

Recently, the offense has been greatly aided by the efforts of a pair of underclassmen. Freshman forwards Kim Pearce and Liz Keady each knocked in two goals in the Harvard win. Pearce, who was responsible for the game-winning goal, was also named ECAC Women's Hockey Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.

The two freshmen have been excellent complements to an already impressive offensive front, led by senior forwards Gretchen Anderson and Lisa Rasmussen.