Princeton expected to win Ivy League

For a glimpse of what true domination is, one needs to look no further than the Ivy League field hockey standings. Princeton owns this league. The Tigers, however, will not be the only team that will pose a threat to Penn this season. After playing some of the best teams in the world in England this summer, the Quakers return to these familiar foes of the Ivy League. · Princeton will most likely finish the '98 season the same way it has finished the past few years, as undefeated league champs. Returning six members of the All-Ivy first team -- including unanimous Player of the Year Amy MacFarlane -- the Orange and Black should cruise through the Ivy schedule with ease. Last year, Penn was the only league team to score twice in a game against Princeton. In fact, only three Ivy teams could find the back of the net against the Tigers, as they only surrendered four goals in league play. League play, however, was just a warm-up for Princeton, which finished the regular season ranked eighth in the nation. The Tigers went on to the national final, where they lost to North Carolina 3-0. · Dartmouth should also turn out to be a challenging opponent for the Quakers. Last season, Penn took the second place Big Green to overtime before succumbing by a 4-3 score. This season, the Green will look to Lauren Scopaz to lead the team. Coming off a freshman year in which she finished fourth in the league in scoring and was named first team All-Ivy, Scopaz should continue to rack up the goals in her second year. · Cornell tied Dartmouth for second place last season and should once again finish near the top of the standings. Although the Big Red will lose the services of all-time leading scorer Cari Hills, several players will return to the squad and keep them in the hunt for second place. · Yale comes to Franklin Field at the end of October. Perhaps they should start this game extra early if they want it to end before November. Last year's game between the Quakers and the Elis went four overtimes before Yale finally won on penalty shots. Lindsay Hobbs, a second team All-Ivy selection, will be the Elis' top scoring threat after netting nine goals last year. · Harvard should improve on last season's 3-4 record, which tied them with Penn and Yale for fourth place. Last season, Harvard squeaked by the Red and Blue with a 2-1 victory. When the Quakers and Crimson meet this season, the outcome should be another close decision. Katie Schoolwerth and Judy Collins will lead Harvard after being named first team All-Ivy last season. · Brown should not present much of a problem to league opponents this year. After posting a 2-5 Ivy League record in 1997, the Bears will probably once again finish near the bottom of the standings. Lucia Duncan and Kim Rogers are Brown's only returning All-Ivy players. · Columbia is not at the same level as the rest of the Ivy teams. Just as Princeton is so much better than the others, the Lions are so much weaker. Entering only its second season of Division I competition, Columbia may not win a game against Ivy foes this fall. After a season in which Columbia surrendered 41 league goals, it looks as though the Lions' goalkeeper will be a very busy person.