Last Sunday, Princeton (6-9 overall, 4-3 Ivy League) beat then-No. 7 Dartmouth with a last-minute overtime goal to clinch a spot in this weekend’s inaugural Ivy League tournament. The Tigers are the fourth seed in the four-team bracket and will face top-seeded Penn (12-3, 7-0).
“We’re a fourth-ranked team and Penn is first-ranked, but out there on the field, it’s just another battle,” junior goaltender Erin Tochihara said. “Come game time, all of that is wiped clean, and we get an opportunity to play.”
The Tigers needed the victory over Dartmouth last week to slip into the Ivy League playoffs, and will likely need to come out on top to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They are an unlikely candidate for an at-large bid with their losing record, but the tournament winner receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Princeton has made 12 consecutive trips to the Big Dance, and it will need to beat Penn and then either Dartmouth or Cornell to continue that streak.
“For us, the Ivy League tournament started last Sunday versus Dartmouth,” senior attacker and tri-captain Kristin Morrison said in an e-mail. “That was our first round of the tournament because it was a do-or-die situation.”
The team received a boost after four Tigers were named to the All-Ivy League team. Sophomore defender Lindsey deButts was a unanimous first-team selection, and junior attacker and tri-captain Lizzy Drumm was also named to the first team behind her 30 goals and 39 points on the season. Tochihara, who began the season as a preseason second-team All-America pick, was named to the second All-Ivy League team with her .488 save percentage, while Morrison was named an honorable mention selection.
“It’s great to be honored by the Ivy League for your accomplishments on the field,” said Morrison, who leads the team with 13 assists. “But in the end, it’s just a title.”
“It shows that, even though our record may not be where we want it to be, we’re still working hard,” said deButts, who leads the team in ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers. “It gives the whole team a little boost of confidence.”
The Tigers will face no small task in the Quakers, as Penn handily defeated Princeton last Wednesday, 12-5. By virtue of compiling the best overall regular-season record and going undefeated in league play, Penn will host the four-team tournament.
Leading the Quakers will be the Ivy League Player of the Year, midfielder Ali DeLuca, along with six other All-Ivy selections.
The Quakers use a team-oriented offense, and the Tigers will have to adjust to that style of play to stay competitive.
“Having played them on Wednesday, we have a better feel for how they play,” Tochihara said. “We know their strengths, and we’re focusing to really work on things we didn’t do so well in that game.”
Tochihara added that Princeton will not radically change its tactics but will continue to concentrate on quality defending and execution. DeButts added that the Tigers will look to control the tempo of the game.
“At the end of the day, we just need to go out there as a team and play like we all know we can and get it done on the field,” deButts added.
The Tigers will have to be at their best if they want to do what no Ivy League team has done this year: beat the Quakers. They seem determined as ever and will look to turn the odds in their favor on the field.
“We’re going to go in with an underdog mentality,” deButts said, “and use that to our advantage.”
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