Field hockey looks to rebound from disappointment of 1999 season

The turning point in this year's field hockey season might have come last year, on Oct. 9. Princeton fell to Brown in Providence, R.I., 2-1.

The loss was the first Ivy League defeat for any of the players on the team — the Tigers had gone five years in conference play without a blemish on their record. But losing to the Bears then might have been the best thing for Princeton's hopes this year.

"[This season] is all kind of related to last season," head coach Beth Bozman said. "It's ironic that we could share an Ivy title and still be so disappointed."

The Tigers managed to grab a share of the title when Brown was beaten by Harvard in the last game of the season, but Princeton was shut out of the NCAA Tournament.

"It was probably one of those things that had to happen because we didn't understand how difficult an accomplishment it is [to go undefeated in the Ivy League]," Bozman said. "When we lost to Brown, it was a very valuable experience to us. The fact that the vast majority of games we lost, UConn, Syracuse, Brown, we all outshot our opponents by incredible margins and still lost the games — it just taught us how far we have to dig."

Princeton's schedule leaves no room for error. Most important for the Tigers (1-0), ranked No. 10 in recent national polls, is the Ivy slate, which includes Brown and several other tough teams.

The opening game for Princeton came Friday against No. 7 Boston University (2-1) at 1952 Stadium, a contest which the Tigers won, 4-2, with Townsend scoring two goals and adding an assist to lead Princeton. The Tigers outshot the Terriers, 21-11.

"Every game is important," Bozman said. "We're going to Yale and playing our only grass game on Saturday, which is a little nerve-racking. I think Harvard has a real strong team, but if there's anything we learned last year, it's not to take any opponent for granted. But I think we have a very good shot at winning the Ivy League, and that is our first priority."

Out of the conference, Princeton's games get even harder.

"We play arguably the No. 1 or No. 2 toughest schedule in the country this year," Bozman said. "We are playing basically every top team, with the exception of Michigan. If we don't have an Ivy game where that title and the NCAA bid is on the line, we have a nationally ranked opponent that's going to determine our seeding if and when we get to the tournament. We don't get much in the way of breathing room."

Princeton is ready, however, for the challenges posed by the schedule. This past summer, six players qualified for 'A' camp, one step from the U.S. national team.

"People worked really hard over the summer," Bozman said. "We're certainly at a better place now than where we were at last year."

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Some of the players BNozman singled out for praise include sophomore attack Kristen Skorupski, freshman attack Claire Miller and sophomore defender Emily Townsend.

"[Senior attack] Hilary [Matson] is our only true veteran — [senior attack] Melanie [Meerschwam] and [senior attack] Kellie [Maul] have some experience. We're pretty young on defense. [Sophomore] Kelly Baril, our goalkeeper, worked all summer with the Under-21 team — but our strength would certainly be on the attack."

The defense might be inexperienced, but the Tigers have been working hard during the offseason to make sure that the team has no weak link.

"Our senior defenders who have never started — Anastasia Nowacki, Holly O'Neill — did a great job over the summer and [sophomore] Beckie Wood came back in unbelievable shape," Bozman said.

The Tigers' next game is tonight against Drexel (5-1) at 1952 Stadium. The game should be a valuable measuring stick to gauge Princeton's chances against tough competition, and a sign of how far the Tigers have come since last season's setback in Providence.