Coming into this season, Princeton senior Sarah Peteraf had scored only four career goals, two each in her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
But this year, Peteraf has transitioned from a full-time midfielder to a hybrid midfielder-forward, and the results speak for themselves.
She's scored half of Princeton's 24 goals and has taken nearly 35 percent of the team's shots. Her seven game-winning goals and 0.8 goals per game both place her alone atop the Ivy League leaderboard.
But when Penn (8-5-3, 2-2-2 Ivy) finishes out its season at Princeton (11-2-2, 4-1-1) on Saturday, the Quakers won't be shadowing the Tigers' main threat.
"We're not going to man-mark. We've never done that . I think it takes you out of your shape," coach Darren Ambrose said. "I think you try and be conscious of where she is, especially in restarts and deadballs, because she's crafty."
Penn's offensive efficiency may be crucial to the match, as goals will likely be at a premium. The Tigers have allowed just six goals in 15 games this season, the best in the league by far; next is Columbia, which has given up twice as many.
Ambrose said that though his team may get fewer opportunities against the unyielding Princeton defense, the key will be finishing on the opportunities that inevitably arise.
"There's not a team all year that has kept us out of scoring situations," Ambrose said. "We just have to be a little bit more composed."
Though an overtime loss to Brown last week knocked Penn out of Ivy League title contention, the Quakers want to send off their seven seniors with a victory against their biggest rivals.
"We have one more game left, and we want to go out with a victory," senior captain Natalie Capuano said. "It's Princeton, so it's always going to be a competitive, hard-fought match."
A victory would be especially sweet because Princeton, Harvard and Columbia are all tied atop the Ancient Eight with 13 points. Due to head-to-head tiebreakers, Princeton can only win the league with a victory over Penn coupled with a Columbia victory or tie against the Crimson on Saturday.
"Penn-Princeton is a classic rivalry in every sport. It's not limited to basketball," Ambrose said. "So we could be playing for seventh and eighth place in the league, and it would be an all-out war."
