Women's soccer visits Rutgers tonight

After a heartbreaking loss to Brown that dimmed its fading hopes of reclaiming the Ivy League title, the women's soccer team will try to bounce back in a midweek tuneup on the road against Rutgers.

The Tigers (3-5-2 overall, 1-2-0 Ivy League) will be playing for pride against the instate rival Scarlet Knights (4-9-1, 1-6 Big East) to determine the hegemony of central New Jersey soccer.

In the middle of their respective league seasons, the game has little longterm significance for either squad. But it will provide both Princeton and Rutgers with the chance to work on crucial strategic elements of its games.

Both teams have shown that they have much that can be improved. The Tigers had appeared to rebound after a poor start to the season when they defeated a physical Dartmouth squad two weeks ago. But an upset loss to Brown last weekend plummeted Princeton to the bottom of the Ivy League standings.

The Scarlet Knights have lost three of their last four league games, including two losses to teams in their division. Rutgers has only three points, gained from its single win, which places it in last place in Division B, 15 points behind division leader Notre Dame.

The Tigers will especially try to jumpstart an offense that has been maddeningly inconsistent this season outside of the high level of play contributed by senior forward Emily Behncke and sophomore midfielder Diana Matheson, the team's two captains. Behncke leads the team with 14 points, on six goals and two assists. Matheson is second with 11 points, tallying four goals and three assists.

With the exception of these two players, however, no Princeton player has consistently proved to be an offensive threat, although freshman midfielder Aarti Jain has shown promise, scoring the first goal of her collegiate career in the loss against Brown.

The Scarlet Knights, on the other hand, have had slightly more offensive success this season, scoring 19 goals in 14 games. Forward Kristen Edmonds, who leads the team in both goals and assists, with five and six respectively, provides a spark for Rutgers. Forward Domenique Esposito has also chipped in four goals and two assists, while Zoe Avner, a preseason All Big-East selection, anchors the midfield.

In terms of goalkeeping, the Scarlet Knights hold a slight edge over the Tigers, although goalkeeper play has not been the strong suit of either team so far this season. Nora Crawford mans the pipes for Rutgers, posting a 1.13 goals against average and a .680 save percentage.

Sophomore Maren Dale has earned the starting job in goal for Princeton over seniors Emily Vogelzang and Madeline Jackson, who split time in net last season. Dale has allowed 1.33 goals per game with a .625 save percentage. Despite these rather unimpressive numbers, Dale has shown considerable potential. As she seeks to prove herself as the Tiger keeper of the future, she has earned two shutouts on the season.

Princeton will continue league play Saturday at Lourie-Love Field against Columbia.