Ivy Race Tightens

What appeared to be a three-way race for the Ivy League title (and the automatic NCAA tournament bid) might have been knocked down to two after lowly Yale upset Brown Saturday, 1-0, saddling the Bears with with their first league loss.

Pennsylvania (ranked 12th in the country) sits atop the Ancient Eight with a 3-0-0 mark, followed by 17th ranked Princeton at 3-1-0 and Brown at 2-1-0.

The loss hurts, but does not necessarily end, Brown's run for the title. The Bears have already defeated Princeton (1-0 on October 2, the Tigers' only league loss) and play Pennsylvania this weekend in Philadelphia.

If Brown defeats Pennsylvania, all three teams will have one loss. Pennsylvania plays Princeton on November 2, so one of those teams will have to lose and finish the season with two league losses.

If Princeton and Pennsylvania played to a tie, Brown would win the league outright. Otherwise, the two first-place teams would meet in a one-game playoff for the NCAA berth.

Assuming none of these teams loses any other Ivy League games, Brown can still control its destiny. Of course, the powerful Quakers could render all of this moot with a win Saturday. But the Bears can still dream.