Leading the charge for both teams will be a strong contingent of forwards.

“They have a very strong attacking presence,” Nichols said. “Their attitude, in my opinion, is what wins them games. Their front three are very strong and very fast forwards.”

Becky Brown paces the Yale offense with 10 goals and four assists, but the Bulldogs have 11 players who have scored this season.

While Harvard doesn’t have any player with Brown’s numbers, it does have a more balanced attack.

“Our forwards do a really good job of pressuring our opponent’s defense,” Wideroff said. “It’s definitely an advantage.”

Sheeleigh leads the team in scoring with six goals and one assist. Nichols and classmate Christina Hagner are tied for second with two goals apiece. Setting them up has been sophomore Melanie Baskind, with one goal and five assists, and freshman Alexandra Conigliaro has four assists so far in her rookie season.

“It’s kind of funny, we’ve been joking about it,” Nichols said. “The strengths of the teams are very similar.”

Thanks to the postponement earlier this month, both teams have had more than a simple scouting report to help them prepare for today’s game. For the Crimson, dissatisfied with its first half, the rematch should prove more advantageous.

“We have gotten that [poor half] out of our system,” Nichols said. “It helps knowing what to expect. Obviously things change in two weeks. We’ve changed a lot too, but we have seen their strengths. It’s a lot about knowing what they have and preparing our response.”