Ivy Sports Notebook | Sharkey attack nearly devours No. 1 Terrapins

Princeton field hockey’s Kathleen Sharkey has a flair for the dramatic.

After leading her team to a near-upset (but eventual 3-2 overtime loss) over No. 1 Maryland last Wednesday, the sophomore from Moosic, Pa., scored the game-winning goal in the final minute as the No. 4 Tigers scored a 3-2 win over American Sunday.

It was Sharkey’s fourth game-winning goal this season for the team, a stat that leads the Ivy League.

The performance earned Sharkey her second-straight Ivy League Player of the Week honor, and third overall in 2009.

Against Maryland, Sharkey scored Princeton’s first goal before the Terrapins came from behind in the second half to prove why they’re the top team in the country and the defending national champions.

Yet the poll voters were impressed with the Tigers’ effort, as the team moved up from fifth to forth in the coaches poll despite the 1-1 record on the week.

Sharkey’s 13 goals this season top the Ancient Eight, but the sophomore isn’t only a scoring threat. She is also third in the conference with eight assists.

Twice Tied. As the clock wound down in the second overtime of Saturday’s men’s soccer game between Harvard and Cornell, the Big Red were experiencing deja vu all over again.

For the second-straight game — make that second-straight Ivy game — Cornell tied its opponent, making its League record 0-0-2 thus far in 2009.

After freshman Ben Kenyon notched his first career goal just before the 10-minute mark in the first half, the Big Red held the 1-0 advantage all the way until the 77th minute. It was then that Harvard’s Alex Chi tied the game with a shot off a cross from Alex Rousmaniere.

The game could have been tied sooner, though, as Cornell junior goalkeeper Scott Brody’s save in the 73rd minute on a shot by Alex Akpan kept the Big Red ahead temporarily. Brody, who recorded nine saves in the game, leads the Ivy League with 51 saves this season.

For the No. 8 Crimson, the tie was their first of the season, and it was not what they expected.

“If we’d lost, I’d be gutted,” Harvard coach Jamie Clark told The Crimson. “This result doesn’t affect us too much — the league is still in our hands, and it shouldn’t hurt our rankings or our NCAA chances. After going down a goal, we’ll take this as a result.”

Harvard (8-2-1, 1-0-1 Ivy) doesn’t have the Ivy crown behind a case in Cambridge just yet — the Crimson currently sit third behind Brown and Dartmouth, each of which is 2-0 in Ivy play.

Shacking up the wins. As Princeton junior soccer player Lauren Whatley scored the game’s only goal for the second contest in a row, a win over Brown was only one reason for the Tigers to celebrate.

The 1-0 victory was Princeton coach Julie Shackford’s 200th NCAA victory, making her only the second current Ivy League coach to reach that mark. Coincidentally, number 200 came against the only other coach in the Ancient Eight to have accomplished the feat, Brown’s Phil Pincince.

“It’s a good moment, but it belongs to all the players who made those wins possible,” Shackford told Princeton Athletics.

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