Surging Tigers take on Temple

The Princeton women's lacrosse team has a tendency to get off to slow starts in its games. The Temple Owls, on the other hand, have repeatedly jumped out to early first-half leads and ridden these sizzling starts to victory.

Neither "strategy" has worked all too well for either team thus far. Phrased differently, each strategy has worked equally well as both the Tigers and the Owls have amassed 4-4 records heading into this afternoon's contest in Philadelphia.

Princeton (4-4 Overall, 2-0 Ivy League) has started to turn on the heat as the run to the Ivy League Championship got under way this past week. The Tigers sit atop the league standings as the only undefeated team with their wins over Columbia and Cornell.

After scoring a combined six goals in these two league games, freshman midfielder Holly McGarvie was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. She has tallied nine goals on the season and leads the team in both draw controls, with 24 and ground balls, with 20.

Temple (4-4) also had a solid showing this weekend, knocking off Rutgers, 11-10, on Friday. Eight different Owls scored in the win as Temple overcame a 9-5 halftime deficit.

Senior midfielder Nicole Cataldo scored two goals in the win including the game-winner with six minutes to go in the game.

Cataldo, who scored two goals against Princeton last season, returns as one of the Owls' biggest offensive threats. She currently sits in the team's top five for goals, with 13, points, with 14, shots, with 23, shot percentage, with .565, and groundballs, with 16.

But Temple is not a one-woman show. Cataldo is joined by two other offensive machines — junior attack Johna Capaldo and junior midfielder Allison Frengs. Capaldo is the leading goal scorer with 15 goals and Frengs, who registered a hat trick against Princeton last season, leads the team with 20 points.

Even matchup

On paper, the teams appear very evenly matched. Through eight games, both have a nearly identical number of turnovers, caused turnovers and draw controls. The big difference, however, lies in groundballs and goals, where Princeton holds the upper hand. The Tiger offense averages two goals more per game than the Owls.

For both teams, this afternoon's game is a tuneup for the remaining league games that dominate the end of the regular season schedule. The Owls begin their Atlantic 10 league games Friday night as they face Richmond on the road and the Tigers continue their Ivy League schedule when they host Yale on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams have faced each other at least once in the past 15 seasons and Princeton has been getting the better of Temple for seven consecutive seasons. The Tigers outscored the Owls 97-49 in those seven wins.

Last season, Princeton narrowly escaped with a 10-8 victory at Class of 1952 Field over a Temple team that was nationally-ranked. The Tigers look for their eighth straight win against the Owls at 4 p.m.