LSU, George Mason to Visit Sherrerd Field: Five Things to Know – Princeton University Athletics – Princeton Athletics

Thursday vs. LSU (4-0-2), 7 p.m. | ESPN+ | International Video | Live Stats | Game Program | Free Admission 
Sunday vs. George Mason (1-3-2), 1 p.m. | ESPN+ | International Video | Live Stats | Game Program | Free Admission

1. The SEC comes to town: This will be Princeton’s first home game against an SEC team at the time of the game. The program’s only other game against an SEC team at the time of the game was in 2004, a 3-0 win over Vanderbilt in a game held at Penn. The program’s only other game against a current SEC school was also in 2004, a 2-1 win over Texas A&M in Princeton. The Aggies joined the SEC eight years later, in 2012.

2. History vs. Mason: Princeton’s first-ever NCAA tournament game was in 1982, a 1-0 win over George Mason in Princeton. That was the first of five meetings through 1991, with Mason winning the other four. After a Princeton win in 2002, the teams didn’t meet again until last season, when Princeton responded to a Kolbrun Eyjolfsdottir third-minute goal with one from Lily Bryant in the 53rd minute and two from Tatum Gee ’22 in the final eight minutes to secure the win. Both teams’ keepers from that game graduated since last season’s meeting as Princeton looks to even the all-time series this season.

3. Rookies and sophs: Each of Princeton’s top three point scorers are freshmen or sophomores, in sophomore Heather MacNab (3G, 1A) and freshmen Pietra Tordin (2G, 0A) and Kelsee Wozniak (1G, 2A). That group accounts for 15 of the team’s 21 points on the season entering the weekend’s games. A sophomore is also logging most of the team’s minutes in goal, with Tyler McCamey accruing a 1.43 GAA in playing 315 of the team’s 360 minutes. Of the team’s 44 starting spots across the first four games, 20 have gone to freshmen or sophomores.

4. Ivy play is coming: The season just started, but after this weekend, there’s only one more weekend with two more games before Ivy play begins on Sept. 24 at Yale. All eight Ivy teams will play between Wednesday and Friday, and all will play again on Sunday. Entering those games, the Ivy teams have a combined record of 19-6-6, and the teams in the top four spots, Brown, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, are a combined 14-1-1.

5. Strong starts a regularity: In Sean Driscoll‘s first six competitive seasons with the program (2015-19, 21), Princeton has always had an even-or-better record entering Ivy play, and in five of the six seasons, Princeton’s winning percentage has been better than .600 entering the league opener, which has always been against Yale during that span. The team’s best record entering Ivy play since 2015 was in 2016 and again in 2017, going 7-1. That’s still a possibility for the 3-1 Tigers with four games to play before heading to Yale.