The Ivy League title is on the line tomorrow, and the field hockey team stands poised to claim it. A victory this week against second-place Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday would put Princeton in control atop the standings. That would give the Tigers a one-game lead over Harvard and Cornell with just one league game remaining, against Penn.
Princeton (9-4 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) has won five straight and hopes to add to that streak this weekend against the Crimson (7-6, 3-1).
"The last two years, [Harvard] has been a good game," junior defender Holly McGarvie said. "Every team comes out ready to play."
The Tigers certainly look primed for a competitive performance tomorrow. Their five straight wins include an emotional victory over Connecticut on Oct. 7. At that time, the Huskies were ranked third in the nation, but goals from senior midfielder Paige Schmidt and McGarvie helped Princeton eke out a close win. Their five-game streak has catapulted the Tigers into first place in the Ivy League and has brought them to No. 20 in the nation.
"I have a lot of faith in the way we're playing right now," head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said.
The Tigers' impressive offense is led by sophomore attack Christina Bortz, who has eight goals and four assists. Bortz has helped Princeton outscore its opponents 244 to 127.
To maintain that excellent scoring differential, the Tigers will have to stop a Harvard offense led by attacks Maggie McVeigh and Devon Shapiro, as well as midfielder Kristin Bannon. McVeigh has been invaluable to the Crimson this year, with three goals and six assists. Shapiro and Bannon both have four goals.
Princeton has been making special preparations for the Crimson's three-pronged attack.
"Right now we've been working on sideline defense," McGarvie said. "We don't want two vs. ones or three vs. twos on defenders. We want to let deeper defenders come up with interceptions."
Sophomore goalie Cynthia Wray should provide the rest of the Tiger defense with a margin for error. The 1.73 goals she has given up per game is third best in the Ivy League.
The play of Wray and others has put Princeton in the enviable spot of controlling its own destiny in the Ivy League. Earlier this season, however, it was not so clear that the Tigers would be in such a position.
According to Holmes-Winn, Princeton's tough loss to Cornell on Sept. 28 "just turned us around." In that loss, the Big Red scored with 21 seconds remaining in regulation to deliver a crushing loss to Princeton. That defeat remains the only blemish on the Tigers' league record.
The Cornell loss represented the low point of Princeton's challenging early portion of the season. The team opened its season against then-No. 17 American and then-No. 9 Penn State, starting off slowly with losses in both games.
"The beginning of the season was rough and we persevered through it," McGarvie said.
But the Tigers did not give up. They ticked off four wins in a row against Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia and Colgate, outscoring their opponents 14-1 in the process. Then came a loss to an undefeated and then-No. 2 Maryland team, which crushed the Tigers 5-0. After the tough loss to Cornell, the Tigers bounced back with their current winning streak.
"Emotion brings you really far in college field hockey. In the last four games, we've really put that together," Holmes-Winn said. "The girls realize that this is really fun."
With a win over the Crimson tomorrow, the Tigers will only have to win one game over Penn to secure the league championship. Princeton will then wrap things up with a pair of non-league games against Virginia Commonwealth and Monmouth, hoping that those games will serve as tuneups for the NCAA Tournament.
"It's going to be hard [to win the Ivy League]," Holmes-Winn said. "Harvard and Penn are really great teams, but I have faith in this team.
"I have confidence in my teammates," McGarvie said. "I don't doubt that we will win the Ivy League."
Bold words, but this is a Tiger team that is on fire and shows no signs of cooling off.
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