No. 10 Princeton starts Ivy season with the goal of a championship

Coming off a tough loss against No. 3 Virginia last Saturday, the women's lacrosse team (3-3 overall, 0-0 Ivy League) is looking to bounce back. The Tigers will have their chance as they start their Ivy League schedule against Ivy rival Cornell (2-5, 1-1) this Saturday at noon in Ithaca, N.Y.

No. 10 Princeton has demonstrated the potential to play very well against non-conference opponents. It defeated No. 13 Johns Hopkins in its home opener and then defeated No. 18 Rutgers in a strong road win. But lately, the Tigers have struggled against stiff competition. In close contests, Princeton fell to No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Penn State.

"Our season so far has been characterized by fight and hustle that has allowed us to compete with top teams like U. Va., Duke and Penn State," tri-captain and senior defender Caitlin Reimers said. "However, we are not satisfied with 'almost' games, where we come within one or two goals of a win ... [but they] have shown us that our fate is really in our hands."

These recent defeats make conference play all the more important, not only because of the ever-apparent Ivy League rivalry, but also because the league has four of its eight member teams in the top 20 of the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association's rankings. This high level of competition in the Ivy League gives Princeton a chance to prove it's a better team than its .500 record suggests.

"So far we are 3-3 in our season. That is obviously not how we had hoped to start out, but we've learned a lot from our losses," tri-captain and senior goalie Colleen O'Boyle said. "We've had games where our attack is unstoppable and games where our defense is impenetrable, and as soon as we can put both ends of the field together in one game, we're going to be able to beat anyone in the country."

If the Tigers hope to perform well against Ivy League competition, the strong play of some of their leaders must continue. Senior attack Kathleen Miller is the other tri-captain on the team and a 2006 third-team All-America selection. She has led by example with her play on the field, scoring 12 goals and assisting on six others in six games.

Junior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica, a recent Ivy League offensive player of the week, has also played very well, scoring a team-high 19 goals.

Cornell vulnerable

Cornell's most recent contest was a 14-9 loss to No. 16 Penn, its first loss in Ivy League competition, last Saturday. This one loss matches the Big Red's loss total for the entire 2006 season, when it won its first-ever Ivy League championship.

This decline in performance may be attributed to the loss of Maggie Fava, goalkeeper and 2006 co-Ivy League Player of the Year. Without Fava's skill and leadership, Cornell has struggled against non-conference opponents, losing to No. 18 Rutgers, No. 12 Notre Dame, Hofstra and No. 15 Denver.

Despite these losses, junior attack Courtney Farrell has managed to continue the level of play that earned her All Ivy League First Team honors last year. She has scored 13 goals and assisted 19 others. Because of her strong individual offensive play, Farrell received Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week honors in the first week of the season.

Princeton's squad is well aware of the significance of its match against Cornell on Saturday.

"Going into the Ivy season, Cornell is a huge game for us," O'Boyle said. "We can't afford to bank on an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so we really need to dominate all of our Ivy League games and win the league's automatic bid. We're setting our sights high this year, and with the depth of talent and heart on our team, an Ivy League title is definitely within reach."