Ilvy Friebe

The field hockey team seemed to be on shaky ground entering this weekend's tough matchups with No. 18 Harvard and No. 5 Penn State. After beating the Crimson, 2-0, and the Nittany Lions, 3-1, however, the Tigers are on terra firma once again.

Sophomore midfielder Ilvy Friebe deserves the majority of the credit for this weekend's success. Inspired by her parents' attendance, Friebe scored three of Princeton's five goals.

Given its Ivy significance, the matchup with Harvard was the more important of the weekend for the Tigers. Contending closely for the Ivy League crown, the Crimson battled Princeton throughout the afternoon. One Tiger goal was not enough to discourage Harvard, but Friebe scored with seven minutes, 30 seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.

Having secured its Ivy dominance against Harvard, the Tigers sought to secure national recognition against Penn State. Friebe never gave the Nittany Lions a chance, scoring 20 minutes into the first half and again five minutes into the second half.

Because of Friebe's outstanding performance this weekend, Princeton is the only team with a perfect Ivy record at 5-0. With one more win against Cornell Oct. 31, the Tigers will secure their seventh-straight league title.