A weekend away from perfection

Running the table in conference play is a feat that very few teams are able to accomplish in a season. Due to an intense work ethic and stellar team play, the field hockey team (9-6-0 overall, 6-0-0 Ivy League) is poised to accomplish that very feat: sitting on the precipice of perfection in the Ivy League.

While the Ivy schedule is one game from complete, it seems like the Tigers have made a commitment to staying at the top.

"Our team is excited about the final two regular-season games," said junior midfielder Paige Schmidt. "Although we've already won the Ivy League, we still want to finish our season with an undefeated Ivy record."

Coming off of a terrific weekend in which they trounced both Harvard and nationally ranked American while clinching the Ivy League title, the Tigers look to close out their regular season at home this upcoming week and maintain their perfect Ivy record. This Sunday, Princeton takes on instate rival Rutgers (6-11-0) and the following Friday, Nov. 3, the Tigers finish out conference play against Penn (8-7-0, 3-2-0).

While neither Rutgers nor Penn boasts an undefeated conference record like

Princeton, both teams have the potential to be challenging match-ups. Rutgers is a fairly young team with no seniors taking the field. The team's young players, however, make up for the lack of veterans.

The Scarlet Knights' two top scorers are sophomore midfielder Amy Lewis and freshman attack Kristen Johnson. The one-two punch of Lewis and Johnson has proven to be quite formidable throughout the season, as they have scored a combined 26 goals with 12 assists, reaching a point total of 63.

In order to contain Rutgers, the Princeton defense, led by senior goalkeeper Allison Nemeth and sophomore defender Holly McGarvie, needs to be on its toes. This shouldn't be a problem, however, as Nemeth has been stellar in net with a .761 save percentage for the season. Nemeth gave up just one goal in two games last weekend while facing one of the nation's most potent offenses in American.

Rutgers will look to use its game of quick counterattacks and speed up top to disrupt the calm play of Princeton. The Tigers will look to recent Ivy League Player of the Week Schmidt and sophomore attack Katie Kinzer — a former Ivy League Player of the Week herself — to dictate pace and help transition the ball upfield.

Once Princeton gets through the game against Rutgers, the team can focus on maintaining its perfect conference record against Penn. The Quakers are on a five-game winning streak, most recently defeating Yale by a score of 3-2 this past weekend. Due to this recent flurry of success, Penn will likely bring a tremendous amount of energy and momentum into the game. The Quakers' offense is just hitting its stride, having netted 14 goals in its last five games, and is led by midfielder Nicole Black and forward Tracy Statter.

While Penn's offense has been connecting well of late, its defense has been struggling. Quaker goalkeeper Liz Schlossberg will need better organization in the back if she doesn't want the powerful Princeton offense to exploit Penn's defensive communication problems. Recently the Tigers have been hitting on all cylinders offensively, having scored 12 goals in their last four games. They aim to continue this streak and take some momentum into the postseason, where their offensive prowess will be put to the test.

Many teams might be able to relax and take it easy this week after a grueling weekend of intense national competition, but the Tigers have adopted a take-no-prisoners attitude and aren't letting up.

"This week in practice, we have been focusing on aspects that have proved to be weaker in the games we've played," says McGarvie. "Our defensive footwork as a team is something that we have addressed. I can't say that we have relaxed knowing that we will be competing in playoffs, but I will say that we are definitely very excited."

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If this excitement can translate into the team playing its typical controlled game, Princeton should have a great shot at ending the season on a winning note.