Women's Soccer: Chase for league title in jeopardy

With three games left in the season, the women’s soccer team finds itself pitted against Harvard after a history of struggle on its path to take the Ivy League title.

After last week’s 2-0 shutout loss to league leader Columbia, the Tigers (8-5 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) need to defeat a solid Harvard (5-6-1, 2-2) squad to stay in contention.

If history is any indication of performance, however, the Tigers could easily find themselves in a difficult matchup on Saturday, as Harvard has historically been Princeton’s toughest opponent. Princeton has a total record of 9-20-1 against the Crimson, its lowest winning percentage against any Ancient Eight rival.

Princeton has won one of its last three games against Harvard.

Harvard has won three of its last five games but is coming into the match with a two-game losing streak after last-minute 2-1 defeats against Brown and Siena. The Crimson is currently ranked fourth in the league.

Offensively the Crimson has scored 12 goals this season and leads the league with the most goals per game. Princeton’s defense will need to watch out for forward Katherine Sheeleigh, who has led her team’s offense with six goals and five assists for a total of 17 points, the second highest in the Ivy League. During the 2008 season she scored the winning goal in Princeton’s 2-1 loss to Harvard.

The Tigers will also need to defend against midfielder Melanie Baskind, who has five goals and one assist, placing her sixth in the league with 11 points.

Defense, however, has been a much different story for the Crimson. Harvard has allowed a league-worst 22 goals this season for an average of 1.79 goals per game.

Alexandra Millet and Jessica Wright have switched throughout the season as the starting goalie.

Harvard’s defensive problems could easily be exacerbated by Princeton’s stellar offensive play this year.

The Tigers’ attack is headed by sophomore midfielder Caitlin Blosser and sophomore forward Jen Hoy. This season Blosser has six goals and seven assists for a league-high 19 points.

Blosser also has been named Ivy League Player of the Week twice this season.

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Jen Hoy has 14 points this season and is the Ivy League scoring leader with seven goals.

Hoy has nearly doubled the number of points she had last season. Last year she scored in the 85th minute to push Princeton to a 1-0 victory over Harvard.

Six of the past seven goals scored by Princeton have come from either Blosser or Hoy.

Princeton’s defense has held together well this year, allowing only 13 goals, which is second best in the Ivy League. In her 13 games this year, sophomore goalie Kristin Watson has racked together 47 saves and five shutouts.

Home-field advantage could also play a strong role.

Princeton has continued to perform well in Roberts Stadium with a home record of 6-1 this season. Harvard has struggled away from home, winning only two of seven games.

Results so far this season suggest that Princeton has the edge over Harvard. With that in mind, the Tigers need to ensure that they do not let the past repeat itself when the team takes the field at 5 p.m. on Saturday.