The top two teams in the league both lost this past weekend, and teams on the brink of elimination kept their playoff hopes alive. Despite only one or two conference games left per team, every team still has a shot at the conference tournament. Below, we try to make sense of the race so far:
1. Cornell (10-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) The only Ivy team undefeated in the league, No. 6 Cornell has taken down Yale and Harvard on the road and was one goal away from defeating now No. 3 Syracuse on the road, where the Orange needed a fourth-quarter comeback to take down the Big Red. Cornell’s scoring leaders are Steve Mock and Rob Pannell, who are first and third in the Ivy League in goals, respectively.
2. Yale (7-3, 3-2) While they have not separated themselves from the rest of the league in many statistical categories, the No. 15 Bulldogs have allowed the second fewest goals of any team in the Ivy League. They lost to Princeton and Cornell early in the season but have won their last three league games and are practically guaranteed a spot in the Ivy tournament, as no team with three wins has ever missed it.
3. Princeton (7-4, 2-2) After silencing critics of their young defense with quality wins early in the season, the No. 13 Tigers have lost two Ivy games by a combined two points. Junior midfielder Tom Schreiber leads the team in points with 45, while junior attack Mike MacDonald has the most goals (27). Still searching for a critical third league victory after being upset by Dartmouth last weekend, Princeton will need to defeat Harvard at home or take down Cornell on the road in a highly anticipated match that will cap off the regular season.
4. Harvard (6-6, 2-2) The Crimson kept its Ivy tournament hopes alive over the weekend with an overtime win over Penn. Goalie Harry Krieger leads the league in saves with 139, and Harvard will need him to be on top of his game if it hopes to make the tournament, as it will finish the regular season with a road trip to Princeton and a tough rivalry game at home against Yale.
5. Penn (6-4, 2-3) The No. 18 Quakers are ranked high in the country but are not a lock for the Ivy tournament. Though they proved their ability with an 11-10 defeat of Princeton last month, they shot themselves in the foot with this weekend’s loss to Harvard, and, although they will be favored to beat Dartmouth, nothing can be taken for granted after the Big Green’s upset of Princeton on Saturday.
6. Brown (5-5, 1-3) Apart from a 11-9 defeat of Harvard, this has not been Brown’s year. The Bears have lost four in a row and will try to correct this against Providence this week before hosting Cornell and traveling to Dartmouth, both of which will be difficult must-wins for the Bears to have any shot at extending their season.
7. Dartmouth (3-8, 1-3) The team with the worst record in the league is a long shot to make the tournament, but this weekend proved that anything can happen. Chris Costabile has 19 goals, the most of anyone on the Big Green, but he is one of just two Dartmouth players who have scored in the double digits this season.
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