Field hockey at Princeton enjoys a history of success, but under head coach Carla Tagliente, there has been a new pattern of dramatic moments to go along with these achievements.
The 2016 campaign, Tagliente’s first, was highlighted by an NCAA Final Four run and followed by an Elite Eight berth in 2017. Last season closed after a defeat by No. 4 North Carolina just one day after a 3–2 double-overtime victory over No. 5 Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite the earlier exit from the postseason, Princeton reclaimed its Ivy League Championship title and saw two athletes named All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 2013.
For the 2018 season, the Tigers are looking to replicate and build upon these triumphs, and they are well on their way. Princeton started the season ranked tenth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches’ Poll but has since risen to fifth place, breaking into the top tier of collegiate field hockey alongside powerhouses North Carolina, Connecticut, Maryland, and Duke.
It’s no coincidence, then, that the Tigers have faced some of these teams already. Overall, Princeton will play six teams who began the season ranked in the Top 10 and three more within the Top 25. Harvard was the only other Ivy League program to be ranked in the preseason poll, coming in at No. 15.
Tagliente, a national champion herself in 1999, led the Tigers into a Top 5 match-up against her alma mater, No. 3 Maryland, this past Tuesday. A meeting with the Terrapins was sure to be a highly competitive affair, especially given Princeton’s 2–1 upset win in last year’s clash.
As predicted, the 2018 match did not disappoint. Each offense got going early with Maryland’s first score coming just 96 seconds into playing time, but sophomore striker Clara Roth evened it for Princeton in the seventh minute. Roth added a second goal before the half, deflecting freshman midfielder Hannah Davey’s shot from the right edge of the striking circle. With just four minutes remaining in the first half, Roth continued her stellar play, setting up senior midfielder and striker Jane Donio-Enscoe with a one-on-one against Maryland’s goalie, ultimately giving the Tigers a 3–1 advantage.
The second half would prove to be a different story for Princeton. Though sophomore midfielder Julianna Tornetta added one more goal nine minutes into the second half, a yellow card against the Tigers allowed Maryland to add two goals to make the score 4–3. With four minutes and five seconds remaining in the game, the Terrapins pulled their goalie and played with 11 field players, scoring the equalizer with only 15 seconds left on the clock. Princeton would head to overtime for the second time in just eight games.
The first overtime period saw just one shot, so the teams headed into a second 10-minute period of extra play. Maryland’s Nike Lorenz secured the ball off a penalty corner and scored early in the second overtime, ending the decision 4–5 for the Tigers.
Princeton’s record now stands at 5–3, but the team has already earned victories over Penn State and Duke, who were ranked fifth and fourth, respectively, when they faced then No. 6 Princeton. The Tigers’ takedown of the Nittany Lions also came in double-overtime fashion as senior fullback Annabeth Donovan netted a point in the second sudden-death period.
Princeton also needed a comeback to beat the Blue Devils in their home opener at Bedford Field. Duke was up 2–1 early in the second half, but goals by Roth and sophomore midfielder MaryKate Neff would give the Tigers a 3–2 advantage that they held onto for the final 16 minutes of play. It’s no doubt exciting to beat the nation’s fourth- and fifth-ranked teams in a single week of play, but the stakes in early September are not the same as they might be in November and the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers’ next chance to face either of these squads.
Princeton begins its bid for a third consecutive Ivy League Championship this Saturday at home against Dartmouth. Game time is set for noon.
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