Ivy-leading Tigers visit Penn tonight

Three games into the Ivy League season, the No. 4 Princeton women's lacrosse team stands in a familiar position — undefeated atop the league standings. The Tigers (8-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) share the top spot with undefeated Dartmouth (9-0, 4-0). Princeton will travel the short distance to Philadelphia, Pa., on Wednesday night to take on No. 16 Penn (6-4, 3-1) at Franklin Field at 7 p.m. Continuing its Ivy League dominance is the team's first priority — the Tigers have won 14 league games in a row, dating back to the 2003 season.

"Nothing is more important," senior attack Ingrid Goldberg said. "Winning the Ivy League gives us an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament."

Princeton has not lost a conference title with Goldberg and her fellow seniors on the roster, though it shared the title with Dartmouth and Yale in 2003. The Quakers have had a solid early season and are currently third in the Ivy standings, but they'll have to overcome a history of losing to the Tigers if they hope to tally a victory. Princeton has defeated Penn 11 consecutive times, and, in 18 meetings with head coach Chris Sailer at the helm, the Tigers have lost just twice.

As if that history weren't enough to deprive the Quakers of their confidence entering the matchup, Princeton is also playing some of its best lacrosse of the season. Last Saturday the Tigers trounced Yale, dominating the Bulldogs in the second half en route to a 11-5 victory.

"All over the field we really made strides in the Yale game," Goldberg said. "We want to keep the momentum going."

Goldberg's momentum has been building for the last four games. Eight of her 12 season goals were scored in the last four contests — she tallied just four goals in the first six games of the season.

Princeton's recent success has been somewhat contingent on its ability to finally cut back on the turnovers the team commits in addition to forcing its opponents to cough up the ball more often. The attack — including senior standouts Goldberg, attack Lindsey Biles and midfielder Elizabeth Pillion — is working together to dominate offensively.

"The attack is really finding an identity," Goldberg said. "It finally came together [against Yale]."

By recognizing where each other's strengths lie, the offense has been able to capitalize on more opportunities. Additionally, the Tigers have been successful at winning draw controls — they won 11 of 18 against Yale. The defense also stepped up by adapting to the isolation setups the Bulldogs threw at it.

Penn is also coming off an exciting Ivy League win, as it conquered Harvard, 11-10, in overtime last Saturday. Chrissy Muller scored the game-winning goal with just seven seconds remaining in the first overtime period to help the Quakers hold off the Crimson. Ali Ryan and Rachel Manson have led Penn offensively, tallying 17 and 16 goals, respectively, on the season. Still, the Quakers' offensive firepower is not as strong as that of the Tigers, as they have recorded only 87 goals to Princeton's 104.

The Tiger offense goes up against Liz Lorelli, who has anchored Penn in goal. She notched eight saves against the Crimson and has a .482 save percentage.

The Quakers are no strangers to higher-ranked teams, and they'll bring their experience to face Princeton. Penn's losses have all been to higher-ranked squads, as the Quakers have fallen to No. 1 Northwestern, No. 11 Johns Hopkins, No. 8 Penn State and No. 14 Cornell. Looking to continue their streak and building momentum, the Tigers will be fighting on Wednesday to stay undefeated in the Ivy League and to have another happy bus ride home.