W. Lax Takes On No. 6 Princeton

Princeton is known as much for its eating clubs and elitism as for its methodical sports teams. Its men's and women's basketball teams pass around the perimeter endlessly, or at least until one of its opponents is a split-second behind on a cut, and its men's lacrosse team won a national championship by essentially boring Maryland to death.

As Harvard knows and will no doubt be reminded tomorrow afternoon at Ohiri Field, the sixth-ranked Tigers are no different when it comes to women's lacrosse.

"They try to control the pace of the game," tri-captain Keren Gudeman said. "They like to wear down the defense and try to take advantage of any little breakdowns."

Avoiding those breakdowns and stopping junior Cristi Samaras--the league's leading scorer--from dominating yet another game will be the toughest task facing the Crimson in its most difficult--and most important -game of the season.

Harvard (3-5, 1-2 Ivy), which sits in sixth place in the Ivy standings, needs wins against undefeated foes Princeton (8-2, 3-0) tomorrow and No. 9 Dartmouth (7-1, 3-0) next Wednesday to have any hope of contending. It's a tall order, but the Crimson must start now.

"It's definitely our biggest game of the season," Gudeman said. "We're in a position where we have to win the rest of our Ivy games. Both of these next two games are an opportunity to prove what we haven't proven so far."

Harvard is coming off tough back-to-back one-goal losses to Penn and Yale, so it is battle-tested. The Tigers will look to wear the Crimson down and put the ball in the stick of Samaras, who has scored in 29 straight games.

"She's their go-to girl," Gudeman said. "We're going to face-guard her and take her out of the game. We'll rotate a couple of good defenders on her."

Harvard will also look to use its superior quickness and defensive intensity to outhustle its opponent.

Although the Tigers are not used to being tamed by underdogs--their only two losses are to No. 3 Virginia and at No. 5 Temple--Harvard hopes to use that to its advantage.

"It's going to be all mental--physically they're going to be a rough team, but we can be rough too," freshman Alli Harper said. "It's perfect for us since we're in a no-lose situation. Princeton has all the pressure."