This game is big.
After completing the first two-thirds of the season successfully, the ninth-ranked Dartmouth women's lacrosse team (10-1 overall, 6-0 Ivy) looks to defend its Ivy League Championship tomorrow against the second-ranked Princeton Tigers (12-1, 5-0).
Dartmouth has won or shared the league title four of the last five years and shared the title with Princeton in 1997. The Big Green squad is the only team other than the Tigers to have captured the Ivy crown since 1994.
Last season, the two teams were in an almost identical situation. Dartmouth entered the head-to-head match up with Princeton with a 6-0 record and Tigers with 5-0. In that game, the underdog Big Green upset Princeton, 8-7, with a dramatic goal by Liz Merrit '01 with 13 seconds left in regulation to capture its second straight Ivy title.
This season, both teams lost their second game of the season, however, both have been undefeated since then. Currently, the Big Green has nine-game winning streak, while the Tigers' have won 11 straight games.
After tomorrow's match, Princeton has one more Ivy game left in the season as the Tigers will face Brown in season finale on April 29.
The Big Green has scored 13.81 goals per game this season. On the other hand, the Tigers have averaged 13.08 goals per game.
Dartmouth has not allowed double-digit goals since its sole loss of the season to Maryland, 15-8. On average, Dartmouth has allowed 6.64 goals per game, while the Tigers have allowed 6.85 goals per game.
After the Princeton game, Dartmouth hosts third-rank Duke and sixth-ranked North Carolina next weekend. In the final regular season weekend, Dartmouth visits 13th-ranked Syracuse.