Both Harvard lacrosse teams will have to earn their stripes on Saturday when they seek their first Ivy wins against highly-regarded Tiger opponents in a doubleheader on Jordan Field.

The Crimson women (4-4, 0-2 Ivy) kick off the day’s festivities by hosting No. 1 Princeton (10-1, 3-0 Ivy) at noon, while their male counterparts (4-4, 0-3 Ivy) face off against No. 11 Princeton (4-4, 1-1 Ivy), the defending national champions, three hours later.

Women

Entering last Sunday’s match-up against Penn, Harvard had been playing well, narrowly dropping a heartbreaker at No. 12 Yale, 9-8, before edging then-No. 20 BU, 11-10, at home.

But on Sunday, the Crimson spotted Penn a 2-0 advantage three minutes into the game and never led, eventually falling, 8-6.

As a result, Harvard will be looking to get back on track against the Tigers, who haven’t lost since dropping their season opener to current No. 2 Georgetown, 15-13.

Still, the Crimson has had a great week of intense practices, and the players feel confident in their ability to compete with Princeton.

“I think we’re going to be ready,” senior attacker Melissa Christino said.

“If we play our game, I think we can honestly play with anyone in the country,” junior midfielder Katie Shaughnessy added.

For Harvard, that means attacking the Tigers from the outset, possessing the ball and making smarter decisions to keep it away from the likes of Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Theresa Sherry. The sophomore midfielder leads both Princeton and the Ivies in scoring with 28 goals and 37 points.

But Sherry is far from a one-woman show. Lauren Simone is second in the league in points with 36 (28G, 8A), while Kim Smith has 27 (23G, 4A) and Mimi Hammerberg 24 (13G, 11A).

In contrast, the Crimson doesn’t have a player in the top 17 in the Ivies in scoring, although Shaughnessy did earn a spot on this week’s Ivy Honor Roll with a hat trick and an assist against BU and two goals against Penn.

Shaughnessy will be hard-pressed to score, though, against a Tiger defense led by Ivy Defensive Player of the Week Rachel Becker. The junior has caused 23 turnovers this season.

If Harvard does have an advantage, it’s that Princeton won’t know where the Harvard attack is coming from.