This weekend, the No. 7 women’s hockey team will venture on the last road trip for the semester that, according to head coach Doug Derraugh, will be one of the toughest of the season. The Red (5-3-0, 5-1-0 ECAC Hockey) will first face the No. 10 Princeton Tigers (5-2-1, 4-1-1) tonight at 7 p.m., followed by a game at Quinnipiac (6-4-2, 4-1-1) tomorrow at 4 p.m.

The men’s hockey team leads the country in scoring with an average of 4.40 goals per game. Tonight, the Red’s sizzling offense will be put to the test against Ivy League foe Princeton, which is riding a three-game unbeaten streak into Lynah. Tomorrow night, Cornell will host Quinnipiac in a battle of the top-2 scoring teams in the NCAA.

PRINCETON, N.J. — In a matchup between two sputtering offenses, one big play, a 78-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Trey Peacock, handed the Tigers the 17-13 victory at Princeton Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Cornell’s offense put up 400 yards, but could not break through Princeton’s banged up defense when it counted most — junior Brad Greenway missed a 28-yard field goal and two rushing attempts failed to net the one yard needed to extend Cornell’s drive with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The women’s soccer team had only 24 seconds remaining in double overtime to hold off Princeton before ending in a draw. The Tigers used these final seconds to net the game-winning goal, giving the Red a 1-0 loss on Saturday afternoon in Princeton, N.J.

“Overall, it was a hard fought game and we played well and it was a heartbreaker to lose in double overtime,” said sophomore defender Sidra Bonner.

Despite being out-shot 20-4 for the majority of the game, the Red (1-12-1, 0-6 Ivy) maintained its defensive strategy as the underdog. Coming into this weekend’s matches, Princeton (7-6-3, 3-2-1 Ivy) was still in contention for the Ivy League’s NCAA bid, but Harvard’s victory over Dartmouth earned the bid for the Crimson and knocked Princeton out of the running.

It was a dismal day for the Red (9-5, 3-3), playing against the fourth-ranked team in the nation on the road on Saturday. The Princeton Tigers (13-2, 4-0) overwhelmed the Red, 10-1, to clinch the Ivy League title in an assertive manner. Six Tigers scored on sophomore goalkeeper Alex Botte, who was still adjusting to playing the full game in net while senior goalkeeper Mel Jue was turning the tables on opponent teams’ goalkeepers on the women’s hockey over the weekend.

Finally, it is the game the field hockey squad has been waiting for. Cornell drives to Princeton, N.J., to meet No. 4 Princeton tonight for a 6 p.m. showdown under the lights. The 18 Red women have placed a considerable amount of importance on this particular matchup, which may almost be viewed as the culmination of the fall season.

Despite cruising to a respectable 5-3-2 record in non-conference play, the men’s soccer team remains in pursuit of that elusive first Ivy win. Having endured a tough week of practice –– one senior forward Matt Bouraee described as “our hardest since preseason” –– the Red hopes its efforts will translate to a “W” when the team travels to Princeton, N.J., tomorrow for a 7 p.m. rendezvous with the Tigers.

“We’ve done well out of conference, but in the Ivy League we haven’t been too fortunate, even though we’ve played very well,” said Bouraee, who is second on the team in scoring with three goals. “We just want to come out with positive results and finish strong.”

The women’s soccer team will spend its Halloween on the soccer field, appropriately battling against the orange and black of Princeton.

One of the team’s two remaining games of the season, this match will provide another chance for the Red (1-11-1, 0-5 Ivy) to improve its Ivy record.

After two close losses during the last two matches — the Red lost, 1-0, to Brown during the final five minutes, and fell, 2-1, to Yale in overtime in that matchup — Cornell is all the more anxious for a win.

“Since there are only two games left, I think we obviously want to end the season on a high note, especially for our seniors, because these are the last two games of soccer they will play here,” said sophomore goalkeeper Megan Bartlett.

The football team’s biggest spook on Halloween might be the specter of a five-game losing streak. Cornell has not dropped five in a row since the 2003 season when it finished 1-9, but the team is facing a resilient Princeton squad on Saturday after four consecutive losses to Colgate (45-23 on Oct. 3), Harvard (28-10 on Oct. 10), Fordham (39-27 on Oct. 17) and Brown (34-14 on Oct. 24).