PRINCETON, N.J.--Are you ready for some futbol? The Harvard women's soccer team certainly was on Saturday night. HARVARD  1 PRINCETON  0

Playing under the lights at Lourie-Love field, Harvard (9-3-1, 5-0 Ivy) extended its winning streak against Princeton(9-5, 3-2) to six consecutive matches and remained unbeaten in conference play with a 1-0 victory over the tigers.

The win keeps Harvard tied with Dartmouth atop the Ivy standings, setting a dramatic stage for this Saturday's match between the nationally-ranked rivals.

"[Princeton] is always tough", said Harvard Coach Tim Wheaton, a New Jersey native and former Princeton assistant. "They're a good team, they defend very, very well, they're really organized. They play defensively, and they get out fast. I'm glad we got it done."

Harvard registered the lone goal of the match at the 71:14 mark, when junior midfielder Ashley Berman one-timed a feed from co-captain Emily Stauffer, burying it in the back of the Princeton net.

The play began when senior forward Naomi Miller led Stauffer with a nice ball down the left flank. Stauffer maneuvered her way deep into the box past three Princeton defenders and touched the ball in Berman's direction.

Berman wasted little time before she rewarded her teammates' efforts,. From five yards out, she rocketed a left-footed blast inside the near post past diving Princeton goalkeeper Jordan Rettig. It was Berman's third goal of the season.

"My man was king of off me so I just accelerated into the space," Stauffer said. "I pushed it by [another defender], cut it back across the box and Ashley just had a brilliant finish--one-timed it into the back of the net. It was awesome."

Harvard was in control of the match from startto finish, outshooting Princeton 10-4 on thenight. The Crimson possessed the ball so oftenthat the Tigers were unable to complete twoconsecutive passes until 6:04 had elapsed, andHarvard goalkeeper Anne Browning did not make herfirst save until the 59:57 mark.

The Crimson came out firing against a Tigersquad that was looking for its first win overHarvard since 1992. But a Princeton victory wasnot to be, as Harvard had chances early and often.

In the game's fourth minute, Miller touched aball over to junior forward Gina Foster whoblasted a shot that sailed high over the Tigers'goal. Four minutes later junior forward BethZotter, penetrated through the heart ofPrinceton's defense and left a ball for Staufferthat the All-American ripped just over thecrossbar.

"This is the style we expected," Wheaton said."We knew that we'd have a lot of the ball; we knewwe'd have to be really patient and move the ballquickly to get after it. For most of the game, Ithought we did that."

Zotter had an excellent match, consistentlyoutrunning Princeton players to balls and leadingHarvard's runs at the goal. She also authored thematch's climactic play.

With the contest still scoreless in the 63rdminute, Princeton sophomore forward Amee Reyesraced in behind the Harvard defense and fired ashot on goal past a charging Browning. The ballwas destined for the Harvard net, but Zotter racedback and made a sensational save to turn back theTigers.

Harvard was the aggressor from the openingkick, hustling to win balls and attacking thePrinceton defense with well-spaced runs andwell-timed passes. Princeton played a moredefensive game, sitting back in its end and usingcounterattack breaks as its primary offensiveweapon.

"Every time we come down here, they get us onthis crap-hard field, pack it in, and then boot itout and hope to run on it," Stauffer said. "It's achallenge for us because we're used to havingplayers mark us up, and they just stand backthere--almost in a zone--and don't challenge ourdefenders at all. It just gets really crowded inthere, and it's really frustrating, but we're gladto get the win."