On every team's schedule, there is one game that, from the beginning of the season, the team starts to think about. For the Penn women's soccer team, it is the last game, the game that will decide the success of the season, and the game against its biggest rival, the No. 11 Princeton Tigers.
Yes, Penn travels to Princeton this weekend, and just like in every other sport, for the women's soccer team, it's the game of the year.
"First of all, it's Penn-Princeton," Penn coach Darren Ambrose said. "It could be tiddlywinks and it's gonna be competitive."
But for Penn, the game will not have quite the luster the Quakers hoped it would. Princeton clinched the Ivy League title two weeks ago after Penn suffered a crushing overtime defeat at Yale.
That game, combined with Penn's 1-1 tie with Dartmouth, leaves the Quakers at a respectable 4-1-1 in the Ivies on the season, and it also leaves them a close second to the Tigers, who are undefeated in the Ancient Eight.
Princeton is a powerhouse. The Tigers have won the Ivy League title the last two years and five of the last six. They are one of the top teams in the country every year, and this year is no exception.
"I have a lot of respect for Princeton," Ambrose said. "You have to respect any team that's 6-0."
Princeton is led by the returning Ivy League Player of the Year, Esmeralda Negron. The senior forward leads the team with 16 points and is second and fourth all-time for Princeton in goals and assists, respectively.
"Esmeralda is a great player," Ambrose said. "But they've got some other weapons who are phenomenal players, there's no one we're keying in on."
And although the matchup won't decide the Ivy League title, the Princeton game is still a huge one.
Aside from the season being decided by how the Quakers fare in their rivalry game, it's also the last game for a distinguished group of seniors, a chance to get 10 wins on the year and a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.
"This would be a great stepping stone for us to get a bid," Penn senior striker Rachelle Snyder said. "It's good for the selection committee."
But, whether or not Penn climbs over that stone and reaches the NCAA Tournament, the season will still be considered a successful one.
"I think we've had a good year," Ambrose said. "We've showed this program can compete on a national level and with a little luck, we could have ended up on a different side of this."
Penn's road to Princeton has not been easy. The Red and Blue started out with the toughest schedule that they have ever faced in the history of the program. After stumbling to a 1-4-1 record in their first six games, the Quakers have since been on a roll.
They are an amazing 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. However, they suffered setbacks in a close tie with Dartmouth and a close loss at Yale, which cost them the Ivy League title. Some key injuries have limited their success.
"I think that it was the most challenging year since we've been here," Snyder said. "A lot of the seniors are kind of taping on body parts right now, hoping to stay together until the season ends."
But the fact that the Princeton game means a lot, including a possible tournament berth, is certainly notable.
"We're still playing for something at the end of the year," Ambrose said. "And that's a lot to be said for our program."
There will be a lot more said for the Penn program if the Quakers can go out and beat Princeton this weekend.
