Final Four clearly higher priority than Winter Formals

Cancel winter formals. Something better just came up.

For those of you who went home for the holiday weekend to sleep on tryptophan and get fat on stuffing, you missed the latest chapter in one of the most impressive college sports stories of the year. I'm not just talking feel-good impressive, I'm talking history.

By beating the University of Washington, 3-1, on Friday night, the women's soccer team became the first Ivy League squad to make it to the National Semifinals. Those will be held this Friday (with the finals to be played on Sunday) in Cary, N.C. Your date this weekend will understand. It's not everyday a team like this comes along. Especially at Princeton.

With my bags already packed (Mom said never leave packing to the last minute), I have only one problem. I can't decide which is more remarkable — the accomplishment of making it to the Final Four or the dominating manner in which it was achieved.

Let's start with the former. Princeton, to be sure, has had its share of national championships. In reality, we have had many schools' share of national championships. Last academic year saw the end of a 17-year run where at least one Princeton team won a national title.

Not to downplay that accomplishment, but we excel in a lot of sports that much of the country hasn't heard of. It's tough to field a good crew team on the lake-less plains of Oklahoma, and I once mentioned lacrosse to someone from Texas, to which he replied, "Gezundheit."

Soccer is different. Soccer is universal. They call it the most popular sport in the world, but I'm not even sure that is accurate. In certain pockets of the globe soccer is less of a sport and more of a religion. While that characterization may not apply to this country, it is still the most-played sport in America. And that is what makes this feat all the more remarkable. Soccer isn't Princeton versus other preppy kids. Everyone's in, everyone fights, and we still come out on top.

Head coach Julie Shackford, stacked up against the most stringent admissions standards and handicapped by a lack of scholarships, has cultivated one of the most talented Tiger teams in recent memory (perhaps the '97-'98 basketball team that finished 8th in the country is a good comparison). In less than a decade, she has raised a floundering program to greater heights than even Dean Fred could have hoped.

To those of you who may still think this is a fluke, that our team can't possibly be as good as the likes of North Carolina and Virginia (both out of the tournament), let's play the numbers game.

For the season, Princeton (19-2 overall) has outscored its opponents, 58-9. In four tournament games, against what is supposed to be the best competition in the country, Shackford's bunch has crushed opponents, 11-1. That includes a mind-boggling 89-19 advantage in shots. Here's the kicker: we are 19-0 in games where we score.

You want honors? We have the Ivy League Player of the Year — who also has a shot at National Player of the Year — the Ivy League Rookie of the Year — who would be a great presidential candidate if she were not from Canada — and the surest lock for National Coach of the Year since Zack coached Kristy Barnes out of that headlock to give Bayside the win over Valley in the classic Saved by the Bell episode where the girl got to wrestle on the guys' team — you know you've seen it.

So take my advice. Get her flowers, buy her chocolate, whatever she likes, and then say, 'Sorry babe, we got a detour to make.' Hop on I-95 until you get south of Richmond and then switch over to I-85 until you start to smell that title.

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You only have four years here, and opportunities like this don't come as often as Princeton formals. Spilled wine doesn't come out of a tux, and most of you won't remember the night anyway. Save yourself the dry-cleaning bill and the splitting Sunday-morning headache. There are those who make history, those who watch it, and those who have to read about it later on. At least we have the chance to be in that second group.