Princeton University Athletics
Field Hockey Meets Harvard in Ivy Game of the Year
October 22, 2004 | Field Hockey
Oct. 22, 2004
The Princeton field hockey team has won 10 straight Ivy titles; the Tigers will need a big effort Saturday against Harvard to have a chance for an 11th.
Princeton, 4-1 in the league, hosts the Crimson, 4-0 in the league, in a game that will go a long way in deciding the league title and the league's automatic NCAA berth. Game time is noon at Class of 1952 Stadium as field hockey plays the first of four huge games in four sports between the two schools Saturday.
A Princeton win puts the Tigers in control of their own destiny; the Tigers would clinch the league's automatic NCAA berth by defeating Penn at home in two weeks. A Harvard win would eliminate the Tigers from contention from that automatic berth, and the Crimson would need only to win one of their final two league games to clinch it.
Recent history, obviously, is on Princeton's side. The Tigers have won 10 straight against the Crimson, including a 3-2 win last year that clinched the league title, and have 26 wins in 34 all-time meetings. But the 2004 Harvard team is a ranked team, at No. 18 this week, and comes to 1952 Stadium with an 8-5 overall record.
The Tigers are playing their best hockey of the season entering the game, having dispatched Brown and Cornell in Ivy League games by a combined 9-0 score last weekend. Princeton outshot those two opponents 68-7, and will need to finish as well as it did last weekend to earn a win against the Crimson Saturday.
Princeton plays at home just once after tomorrow--the Nov. 5 game against Penn. The Tigers will need a big victory tomorrow to have that Senior Night be as meaningful as they hope.