Women's Lacrosse: Princeton among 3 undefeated teams

Though last weekend marked the midway point of the Ivy League women’s lacrosse schedule, the top of the standings is far from settled. No. 12 Princeton (6-3 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) is one of three teams still undefeated at this late stage, while a fourth is right behind with a sole loss. These teams will play each other down the stretch, providing many critical games over the final three weeks of the season.

Dartmouth (8-2, 4-0)

The Big Green is the league’s hottest team and boasts the best goal differential to date, outscoring its opponents 54-27 in conference play. Ranked No. 17 nationally, Dartmouth is a perfect 5-0 at home including a 10-7 victory over No. 16 Syracuse last week. Kristen Giovanniello is the only goalie in the league to have stopped more than half the shots she has faced, posting a save percentage of .541 through 10 games. Attack Kat Collins ranks third in the conference with 3.1 points per game and has scored a league-best four game-winning goals.Penn (8-3, 4-0)

The Quakers, ranked No. 8, are the only top-10 team in the conference. An 8-5 nonconference loss at Johns Hopkins is their largest blemish to date, as their other defeats came against No. 1 Maryland and No. 2 Northwestern. Penn dropped No. 6 North Carolina 10-7 at home early in the season and is the only Ivy League team to beat Harvard this year, coming back in the second half and scoring the game-winner with 17 seconds remaining. The Quakers’ next two games are against undefeated teams — Dartmouth on Saturday and Princeton the following Wednesday — but each will be at Penn. 

Harvard (5-4, 3-1)

 

Brown (5-6, 1-3)

The Bears got off to a promising 5-2 start, but the wins mostly came against weak nonconference competition, and four consecutive losses have dropped the team below .500 for the first time this season. Though Sunday’s game ended in a loss, it may have been Brown’s best showing of the season — the hosts took No. 4 Duke to overtime before losing 13-12. The Bears display an aggressive style of play on both ends, attempting the most shots and causing the most turnovers per game, but also committing the most fouls in the conference.

 

Cornell (3-7, 1-4)

Either by design or coincidence, the Big Red has had the disadvantage of playing the four most difficult league teams first. Their one Ivy win came by a 9-7 score against one-win Columbia, hardly an impressive achievement. Defense has been their main deficit, as the Lions rank last in the Ivies in goals allowed, mostly a result of their 34 percent save percentage. Still, Columbia remains a threat as long as attack Jessi Steinberg continues shooting at her rapid pace. She leads the league with just under seven shots per game and places  second in goals with 2.6 per game.

 

Yale (2-9, 0-4)

The Bulldogs have been severely outclassed in several games this year, including a 19-3 loss at Harvard and a 16-3 loss at Georgetown. They struggle offensively, having scored five or fewer goals in eight of their 11 games, and rank last in the league in goals, assists and turnover margin. But they did lose to league-leading Dartmouth 9-8, showing that, despite their deficiencies, they can compete on any given Saturday.

Columbia (1-8, 0-4)

The lions are a puzzling team, ranked in the middle of the pack for most of the major measures. However, they have only won a single game so far, over middling Iona. Despite their lack of success in the wins column, attack Kacie Johnson leads the league with 3.67 points per game off of 23 goals and 10 assists, and goalkeeper Karlee Blank ranks on top with 10.78 saves per game. They still have to play Yale in a game that will likely determine which of the two teams finishes winless in the conference.