Playing two unranked opponents this weekend should have been a respite for the field hockey team. Prior to the weekend, Princeton's last three opponents had been the top three teams in the country — Maryland, Old Dominion and North Carolina.
But this weekend was one of revenge for the No. 7 Tigers (7-3 overall, 4-0 Ivy League), as they beat Brown, 4-1, on Saturday, and topped Duke, 5-2, on Sunday. Both games were played at 1952 Stadium.
The Bears (6-5, 0-4) beat the Tigers 2-1 in overtime last season, becoming the first team to knock off Princeton in conference play since 1993, and denying the Tigers a NCAA tournament berth. The Blue Devils (5-10) triumphed over Princeton 3-1 last year, as well.
"[Beating] Brown was definitely revenge," sophomore defender Emily Townsend said. "That was sweet revenge."
Monet
Although the Tigers' victory might have been sweet, it was not pretty.
"I'd say we played pretty poorly all around. It was not good hockey at all," head coach Beth Bozman said. "It was a really poor representation of what we can do.
"The only good thing that came out of it is that we won."
The Bears scored first — six minutes, 11 seconds into the game — on a penalty corner. Sophomore goaltender Kelly Baril partially blocked a shot by Brown's Susana Parish, but the ball rolled over Baril and into the net.
The score stunned much of the crowd: Would the Bears upset Princeton for a second straight year?
The Tigers would not let that happen, however. Princeton struck back with four unanswered goals in the first half to win easily.
Freshman defender Cory Picketts was the first to net a goal, slapping a shot off a penalty corner into the back of the cage. Senior attack Hilary Matson passed in on the corner to senior defender Bridget Marchesi, who set up Picketts's goal.
Matson was also involved in the next goal. The senior drove downfield from deep in her own end, but lost the ball. However, freshman attack Claire Miller managed to control the loose ball and convert the opportunity.
Townsend added a goal of her own on a penalty corner, and junior defender Aviva Meerschwam closed out the scoring, on an assist from her sister, senior attack Melanie.
But overall, the game was a disappointment for the Tigers.
"The intensity wasn't there, the game plan wasn't there, the speed wasn't there," Bozman said. "At least [senior] Anastasia [Nowacki] played well. We had one solid defender back there."
Strong half
Against Duke, Princeton played better, but couldn't manage a complete effort.
"We came out hard," Townsend said. "We were able to get four goals in the first half, which really helped."
"We were flat in the second half," Bozman said. "We came out with the intensity we wanted in the first half, but we couldn't sustain it. "We just need to put together two halves like that."
The Tigers jumped all over Duke in the first half, and built a 4-0 lead at halftime. The most spectacular Princeton score came about five minutes into the game, as Melanie Meerschwam took the ball near the Blue Devil net, dribbled by three defenders, twisted, turned and shot into the right corner of the cage.
Nearly eight minutes later, Meerschwam found Townsend on a penalty corner, and the sophomore blasted the ball past Duke's Erica Perrier. On another corner, Picketts blocked the shot and slapped the rebound toward the goal, where Matson redirected the ball into the back of the cage.
The senior scored again with 39 seconds left in the half, and sophomore midfielder Ilvy Friebe beat Perrier, unassisted, five minutes into the second frame, to finish Princeton's scoring.
Duke made a comeback run, however, scoring two goals in a span of about five minutes midway through the second half. The Blue Devils also had a number of good opportunities to tighten the game further, but Baril and the defense clamped down, preserving the victory.
"We have a better chance at a home game for the [NCAA] tournament [after beating Duke]," Townsend said.
The Tigers also have their confidence back after winning consecutive home games and exorcising some of last year's demons.
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