The Demon Deacons are 16-3 entering the tournament this weekend. Although they may be without head coach Jennifer Averill, who is nine months pregnant, the team is still led by senior forward and ACC Offensive Player of the Year Kelly Dostal. As a measure of recent comparison, Wake Forest bested a Michigan team by two goals that the Crimson fell to by the same two-goal margin.

But the team refuses to shy away from the nation’s best, insisting the match-up plays to its strengths.

“We play up to the opponent,” Gannon said. “The better the opponent, the better we play.”

On Harvard’s side in the contest is the location, as they will effectively be playing a home game.

“It’s a huge advantage in tournament play,” Caples said. “Not having to travel, and being acclimated to the elements and the surroundings.”

Riding a three-game winning streak, the Crimson is currently playing its best field hockey of the season. The team was bolstered on Monday by the selection of six players to the All-Ivy teams, including junior midfielder Shelley Maasdorp, the Ivy League Player of the Year. Maasdorp needs just two goals Saturday to break the all-time Harvard single-season scoring record.

“I think the team is playing with a great deal of confidence,” Caples said. “You can’t ask for anything more as you enter a tournament, except to be at the top of your game—and I feel that’s where we are.”

A heavy underdog with a supportive crowd at its back on Saturday, the Crimson will play with nothing to lose and will give the visitors all they can handle.