Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Princeton looks to rebound on first road game of season

Hitting the road for the first time this season, the women’s field hockey team will travel over the weekend to Hanover, N.H. and Syracuse, N.Y. to take on Dartmouth and No. 5 Syracuse. The Tigers (3-1 overall) opened the season with three wins on their home turf but suffered their first loss of the season last weekend against No. 12 Penn State, ending the team’s 12-game winning streak and causing the team to fall to No. 6 in the national rankings. Despite this setback, the reigning national champions are determined to enter this weekend’s games with a sharp focus and a positive attitude.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the best result from our game against Penn State this weekend, but on the upside, we learned a lot and have adjusted our playing style,” senior striker and co-captain Michelle Cesan said. “We are very excited to play this weekend against Dartmouth and Syracuse because they are both good competitors, and those are the types of teams we thrive against. Not to mention, coming off of a loss is even more encouragement to bounce back and do anything it takes to win.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Stopping first in Hanover to face off against Dartmouth (1-2), the Tigers will play their first Ivy League competition of the 2013 season. Though this is Princeton’s first road game, it will be the Big Green’s home opener, after starting its season with three away games. Dartmouth enters Saturday’s contest coming off of a 5-0 loss to Northeastern, so both teams will be looking for a win to turn momentum back in their favor. Last year, when the Ivy League rivals met in New Jersey, the Tigers came out on top with a 4-1 win. However, Dartmouth was the only team in the conference to score a goal on Princeton in 2012.

“The Dartmouth team is always athletic and capitalizes on counter-attack situations,” sophomore midfielder Teresa Benvenuti said. “To prevent this, we have to be organized and impose our structure throughout the game.”

With a quick turnaround, the Tigers will head to Syracuse for a Sunday afternoon game. The competition will be aired live on ESPN 3 starting at 3 p.m. Syracuse (6-0) is currently undefeated but still has to get past Boston College on Friday before facing off against Princeton later this weekend. The only team to defeat the Tigers last season, Syracuse was able to hold Princeton scoreless and win 2-0.

“Our loss last year against Syracuse was the best thing that happened to us,” Cesan said. “We transformed and ended up winning the National Championship. We hope that [the Penn State] loss will also have a positive effect.”

The Tigers have several reliable offensive threats so far this season. Benvenuti leads the team with three goals and three assists, while Cesan and junior striker Allison Evans, recent Ivy League player of the week, have each added two goals and three assists. When compared to the other NCAA Division I teams, the Tigers are certainly making a statement early on this season, getting ranked No. 6 for most assists per game, being tied at No. 12 for most points per game, coming in at No. 13 for most penalty corners per game and finally tied for No. 14 for most goals per game.

“The team has been working really hard with the little time we have on the field,” Cesan said. “Syracuse and Dartmouth each have their tendencies, and we are making sure that we respond to them. Our team motto is to look at every competitor the same, and that is exactly what we are doing. In our minds, we are always the underdog. Even though Syracuse was our only loss last year, we are not looking for vengeance; we are looking for improvement. Our goal for this weekend is to solidify our structure so that the rest of our season is about fixing the small things. The girls are all pumped for our first away trip and look forward to putting our new structure to the test.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Sophomore midfielder Kate Ferrara, a key player for the Tigers, has a broken hand and thus will be unable to play in this weekend’s games. In practice this week, Princeton has been getting accustomed to the new personnel and position changes warranted by this injury. Despite these unforeseen adjustments, the Tigers remain focused on their fundamentals and on limiting unforced turnovers as well.

“Of course, this weekend we are looking to come away with two wins,” Benvenuti said. “In order to achieve this, we must maintain focus, awareness and discipline throughout the game because Syracuse will exploit any weakness or mistake. Most importantly though, we must outwork our opposition. It’s cliche, but the outcome will ultimately be determined by which team is more willing to sacrifice themselves to get the positive result. Only then will we be proud of our efforts.”

Subscribe
Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »