This year in sports, a team's regular season record has not always predicted its performance in post-season tournaments. The NFL's San Diego Chargers, after achieving a league-best 14-2 record, fell in the conference semifinals. The Dallas Mavericks, after achieving one of the best records in NBA history, lost to the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors in six games.
Princeton's women's lacrosse team (10-6 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) hopes to continue this trend when it faces No. 3 Virginia (16-3) tomorrow in Charlottesville, Va., in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers' season up to this point has been dramatic enough to be the plot of a movie. After a season-opening win over perennial contender Johns Hopkins, Princeton went 5-5. That mediocre streak culminated with an emotionally draining loss to Penn. The defeat clinched the Ivy League title for the Quakers and ensured that the Tigers would be taking the long route to the NCAA Tournament, if they made it at all.
Then Princeton won three straight games against Ivy League opponents, setting up a potential make-or-break matchup against No. 2 Maryland in College Park.
Two overtimes and 25 goals later, the Tigers' chances at a playoff berth appeared almost certainly broken with the heartbreaking loss to the Terps.
After a thrilling one-goal victory over No. 10 Georgetown last Sunday, however, Princeton squeaked its way into the tournament. Because of its unimpressive record, Princeton received a lower placement and has to face a highly ranked team.
When the word came out that Princeton would face Virginia in the first round, all the perceived advantage that would usually be given to a top seed vanished.
Why? Because when these two teams meet in the tournament, anything goes.
In the last four post seasons, Princeton and Virginia have met three times. The first time was in the 2003 NCAA championship game, when Princeton beat Virginia, 8-7.
The second time was another championship game in 2004. This time, Princeton fell to Virginia, 10-4.
But the third time is the most relevant to Saturday's matchup. Last year, under almost identical circumstances, Princeton went to Charlottesville as an underdog and left with the pride of the Cavaliers and an invitation to play another day.
"My favorite memory is definitely last year's tournament game when we upset them in the first round," senior defense Caitlin Reimers said. "It was a perfectly executed game which we were able to control from start to finish."
This time, Virginia will be aware of both the Tigers' strength and its own chance at a national championship.
The Cavaliers have had an excellent season. Playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with perennial powerhouses Maryland and North Carolina makes it difficult to maintain an elite win-loss record. The Cavaliers had a 13-3 regular season record, however, and were ranked very high nationally all season.
When the ACC postseason tournament came around, the Cavaliers took full advantage of the highly competitive atmosphere in their conference. After a win against Boston College, Virginia faced No. 5 Maryland for the right to play for the ACC championship.
During this game, the Cavaliers always seemed to be playing catchup. In a manner that resembles Princeton's playing style, Virginia took control late in the second half, scoring six straight goals to beat the Terrapins 10-7 and move on for a chance to claim a second ACC title.
This impressive late-game run was not the most notable event of the Cavaliers' ACC tournament run, however. In the final, Virginia was slotted to face No. 4 North Carolina, a team that had held the No.1 national ranking for a considerable time. Despite its ranking, North Carolina looked less than stellar. The Tar Heels were held to one goal in the second half and fell 12-6 to the Cavaliers. Fittingly, the MVP of the tournament was Virginia's goalkeeper, junior and all-ACC tournament selection Kendall McBrearty.
On Saturday, Princeton will face Virginia for the eighth time in four years. It's clear that these two teams have a rivalry with serious national championship implications.
Whatever prognosticators think the outcome will be, be wary of those who cite Virginia's regular season or ACC tournament accolades: The history of this rivalry and the nature of this sports year suggest that those numbers will factor little in the outcome.
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