Field hockey defends home field in strong performances

With just eight games left in the season, the Princeton field hockey team seems to be finding their stride at just the right moment. Following a successful trip to Hanover last weekend, the Tigers defended their home well in back-to-back gameson SaturdayandSunday, defeating the Yale Bulldogs and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Tigers (5-4 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) have been hot during this three game win streak, putting up an average of 4.3 goals per game over that time period. The ability to score was in full display during the match against a Yale team (2-7, 0-2) that has struggled of late. Sophomore striker Ryan McCarthy and senior striker Maddie Copeland got it going for the Tigers in the first half, putting in two goals in quick succession in the 18thand 19thminutes to give the Tigers the lead. McCarthy’s goal came after the Tigers were able to move the ball inside off of a corner by Copeland herself.

Copeland’s goal —a result of quick movement up the right side of the field, as Copeland deftly positioned herself up front to receive the pass to score —illustrates the importance of off-ball movement. It’s a necessary feature of championship offense that has been a focus for the Tigers all season long.

Copeland, moreover, has been the Tigers’ go-to scorer —she’s put in nine goals on the season so far, while no other Tiger has put in more than four. She’s picked up two hat tricks on the season, and is currently tied for sixthin the NCAA for goals per game (1.0). However, as she freely states, her own scoring is linked to the team’s commitment to off-ball movement.

“The goals happen just because of what’s going around from other teammates. It’s then a product of a lot of off-ball movement that we didn’t necessarily have last year.” Copeland explained. “I think we’re opening up a lot more opportunities in the circle, which is amazing. We’ve generated a lot more corners, which we’ve been scoring on too. I just think the overall work from other players on the team has created a lot of my opportunities in the circle.”

She and McCarthy would continue providing for the Tigers in the second half. Copeland this time took advantage of a defensive error on the Bulldogs’ side to scoop up the ball and snipe it into the back of the net. McCarthy, for her goal, found herself in the right place at the right time, as she took the pass from Copeland and, with a tap, caused the ball to go rolling in past a misplaced Bulldogs goalie. She sealed a 4-0 victory for the Tigers, giving them their fourth victory by a 4 goal margin.

Against Penn State, the Tigers were getting opportunities early on, but couldn’t find the back of the net through the first half. One of their closest opportunities was from freshman back Nicole Catalino, who hit the post with a shot just1:16into the game. Despite a scoreless first half, the Tigers knew they had been getting solid shots, and were ready to continue playing their game for another 35 minutes.

“We knew that was a huge game for us. The first half we created some good opportunities for ourselves, but we knew we weren’t executing, obviously.” Copeland said. "I think just going into the second half, we knew that we needed to win the game, we weren’t going to let them get away with the game."

The Tigers certainly took matters into their own hands. After getting outshot 8-6 in the first half, they were the unquestioned aggressors in the second, getting eight shots to Penn State’s one. Copeland scored the go ahead goal just under three minutes into the second half, with Catalino to follow later on, for her fourthgoal on the season.

"We came out really, really strong in the second half, and dominated most of it.” Copeland said.

The Tigers also have senior goalie Anya Gershoff to thank, as she made seven saves on the game and has been one of the top goalies in the Ivy League so far.

The Tigers now look forward to the Columbia Lions to complete their homestand. Princeton over the past decade has been the gold standard in the league, as they look for the 10thstraight title as league champions.

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“These are the games that put us in the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season. If we don’t win every single one, we’re not going to make the tournament.” Copeland said. “So we treat them exactly the same. We need to be really dominant.”

After that contest, they will begin one of the toughest stretches of their season, with a four game road trip that includes games against two of the best in the country, No. 1 UConn and No. 2 Syracuse.

“Those kind of games come down to ball possession and just how we connect as a team. I think we’re definitely capable of winning those games, but we can’t have any slip ups throughout those games.” Copeland said. “I think this past weekend has really shown us that our team can come away [and] play a full 70 minute game and be completely dominant the entire time.”