As will be the case most weekends, the women's Ivy League will be highlighted by one evenly matched game. Today, that was Princeton v Radcliffe showdown. As Brown dismantled Yale 85-0, and Dartmouth trounced Columbia 53-7, Princeton held off current DII champion Radcliffe to a 26-14 win.

“It was a very tough game,” Princeton coach Emil Signes said. “We’re very excited. This was a big win for us. We went up 19-0, then they scored and we traded tries, but overall we outplayed them.”

If the pressure to win wasn’t enough for both teams, the field situation certainly added more distraction. A lacrosse tournament usurped Radcliffe’s home pitch, and the team wasn’t informed of the move until the last minute. After attempts to play at the football stadium fell through, the game moved to a muddy field that had cars in goal, and both teams had to modify their game plans to account for the messy conditions.

Princeton typically likes to move the ball wide but instead used flyhalf Lauren Rhode’s expert boot to keep Radcliffe pinned in its own end, and that territory battle proved instrumental in the win. Rhode was particularly dangerous on the field and scored two of Princeton’s tries. The forwards pushed over a try as well, and lock Lelabari Giwa-guri dotted it down to finish off the effort.

Signes also pointed out the effort of freshman scrumhalf Stephanie Kim, who played rugby in high school.

“You’re never sure if you want to play a freshman that early in their career,” Signes said, “but she played great. Our halfbacks played really well together, and No. 8 Dot Mittow worked really with the pairing.”

Radcliffe had some decent strikers out wide, and were able to score on two long runs when first-up tackling failed. But Radcliffe couldn’t handle Princeton’s centers, where many of the team’s linebreaks occurred.

Although very ecstatic with the win, Signes will reiterate defensive principles in the upcoming week as they prepare for Dartmouth. Forwards coach Peter Kelly, a former Ireland professional, will continue to work on the set pieces, although they’ve improved since week one.

Princeton is on the road again this weekend and will travel to Hanover, NH, Friday evening for a Saturday kickoff.