The women's rivalry between Princeton and Rutgers, steeped in their proximity and a history dating back to 1980, extends literally to the playing field.

Princeton coach Julie Shackford notes that the playing surface at the Scarlet Knights' home, Yurcak Field, may be one of the best in the country.

''I tell our groundskeepers to take a 20-minute drive up to Rutgers and see their field when they tell me you can't grow grass in central New Jersey,'' she says of the site of Wednesday's game on Fox Soccer Channel (live, 8 pm ET).

Rutgers leads the series, 11-7-3, but Princeton holds a 6-4-1 edge since Shackford took over at Princeton in 1995.

''It's a derby, plain and simple,'' says Rutgers coach Glenn Crooks, whose team is 9-1-1 overall and 4-0-1 in the Big East. ''A lot of these kids know each other from playing high school and club, and these games are always competitive.''

Rutgers has outscored its opponents 24-4 and comes into this nonconference game having blanked Big East foes Marquette, 3-0, and South Florida, 5-0, in its last two games. Sophomore Alicia Hall leads the team with six goals, yet the balanced attack includes Gina DeMaio, Jenifer Anzivino and Karla Schacher with four goals apiece.

Crooks has three freshman goalkeepers on his roster, which normally would be a concern, except that Erin Guthrie has displayed the poise of a veteran. ''We knew she'd be good,'' says Crooks of the 5-foot-7 native of Sparta, N.J. ''She's been everything as advertised, and more.''

Princeton staged an amazing run two years ago to reach the 2004 Women's College Cup, but lost nine starters from that team and another seven seniors from last year's 8-6-2 team that finished second in the Ivy League and didn't qualify for the tournament. At 4-4-1 overall and 0-2-0 in Ivy play, the Tigers could run the table in its remaining conference games and still be left out, so an away result against a regional rival would bolster their case.

Canadian Diana Matheson, a first team All-America selection as a freshman in 2004, has played just six college games while juggling her national team duties but leads the team in scoring with four goals and three assists. Meghan Farrell and Aarti Jain each have three goals for Princeton.

''It's great to have Diana finally here and settled in,'' says Shackford of the junior whose plane landed a few hours prior to kickoff for last weekend's game against Dartmouth, a 1-0 loss. ''But they've all got to be ready to play. This is always a big game, and this year, Rutgers is very, very good.''

    TUESDAY WOMEN'S ACTION

  • No. 21 Loyola Marymount won its fourth straight game with a 2-0 win over visiting Hawaii on Tuesday afternoon. Lauren Shanklin and Jamie Bell scored a minute apart in the second half for LMU, which will take a 7-1-2 record into WCC play.