Last year, on Princeton's home turf, the Tigers handed Penn a 10-3 loss. In fact, every annual meeting of the rivals since 1994 has resulted in a victory for the Tigers.
With such a precedent to overcome, the No. 16 Quakers (6-4, 3-1 Ivy) will face a tough task tonight when the No. 4 Tigers (8-2, 3-0) visit Franklin Field. Princeton is not only hoping to extend its 11-year win streak over Penn, but also keep its undefeated record in conference play.
A win would also go a long way toward the Tigers' Ivy League title hopes. Only the Quakers and Dartmouth, which is 4-0 in the league, stand in the way of the Tigers fifth straight championship.
But in order to reach their matchup with the Big Green still undefeated, the Tigers have to bypass Penn first.
And the Quakers will not submit without a fight, even if history favors the other side.
"Our expectations are to win," Penn coach Karin Brower said.
"Our goal has been to win the Ivy League, and that goal has not changed. We don't expect anything less than a win."
After narrowly defeating Harvard in overtime last Saturday, the Quakers remain afloat in the race for the Ivy championship. A victory over Princeton would not only upset historical precedent, but it would also significantly strengthen the team's claim to a league title.
"It would be a huge step for us to win, but more importantly it would be a big step for the program to beat Princeton, who has won two of the last three national championships," Brower said.
"No doubt it is one of our biggest games of the season."
When they hosted Penn at home last season, the Tigers took command of the game early -- mounting a 7-1 lead before halftime.
Although the Quakers' improved immensely in the last 30 minutes, their halftime deficit proved too much to overcome.
Though the Quakers left the field with a loss, they had felt the excitement and potential of a closely-contested second half. Tonight, Penn will look to recreate that momentum, and play more consistently.
"We have played one good half against Princeton since I've been here," said Brower, who is in her sixth season with the Quakers. "Last year that happened to be the second half, but in years past it has been the first. But the key is to play that way for the entire 60 minutes."
One thing that should be encouraging for the Quakers is their ability to win the close games.
Penn is 4-0 in one-goal games this season, including Saturday's win over Harvard as well as one-goal wins earlier in the year against Delaware, No. 20 Ohio State and Yale.
But the Tigers have had their share of drama as well this season, including an overtime win over No. 3 Georgetown, a double-overtime victory over No. 14 Cornell and a double-overtime loss to No. 8 Penn State -- a team that routed the Quakers last week.
Confident in their potential, the Quakers hope that an entire game of their most intense play will be enough. And, though the statistics seem to favor the Tigers, the expectations of a win often cause more damage than good.
"Sometimes you can take a team lightly," Brower said, "and that can hurt you."
At this pivotal point in the season, the Quakers seem determined to emerge with a victory. If they can clear their minds of trends of the past and play consistently for the entire 60 minutes, history may be rewritten.
