Looking ahead: A potential Ivy title game

Not that the Penn-Princeton rivalry has been lacking in intensity, but this year’s women’s soccer tilt between the two schools appears like it will carry extra weight.

Penn and Princeton currently sit atop the Ivy standings at 3-0. If both teams maintain their level of play and win out, when they meet in the season finale on Nov. 3 at Princeton, it will effectively become an Ivy League championship game. Considering that last season’s 14-2-1 Penn team missed out on an at-large bid, winning the conference could be their only ticket to the NCAA tournament.

The Quakers have a relatively easy path to the finale with games remaining against Brown and Yale — both which are winless in Ivy play. The only potential roadblock is this weekend’s game at Dartmouth (see preview). But with wins at Ithaca and as far away as Sacramento, the Quakers have proved thus far that they can travel well.

A potential Penn-Princeton game provides an extremely intriguing matchup on paper. Princeton has the strongest offense in the conference, led by forward Jen Hoy’s 14 goals. Penn, meanwhile, boasts the league’s stoutest defense, conceding only 0.81 goals per game. One huge advantage in the Tigers favor will be home field. The Quakers have not won there since 2003.

With all the potential storylines surrounding a Penn-Princeton finale, we can only hope the two teams keep up their outstanding play.

— Tim Ghosh