Losing to two of the three best teams in the nation is always tough. Losing to those teams by a total of two goals is tougher. But toughest of all is knowing that you were so close to winning both of those games and failed to do so.
The field hockey team (5-3 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) traveled to Norfolk, Va., this weekend to play No. 3 North Carolina (11-1) and No. 2 Old Dominion (13-1) on the Monarchs' home turf. The Tar Heels beat No. 8 Princeton, 3-2, on Saturday, and Old Dominion squeaked by the Tigers, 2-1, in overtime Sunday. Princeton has lost three consecutive games — but only by a total of four goals to the top three teams in the nation. No. 1 Maryland — the defending NCAA champion — beat the Tigers, 2-0, at 1952 Stadium Sept. 29.
Following these defeats, the Tigers can take comfort in the fact that the schedule is not getting anymore brutal. Princeton did manage to improve during the course of the weekend and learned lessons that should prepare it for tough games down the road.
Princeton went into its first game against the Tar Heels flat.
"We had a lousy first half," senior attack Melanie Meerschwam said. "We weren't excited — we just didn't start well."
"We didn't play well against North Carolina," head coach Beth Bozman said. "We were never really in the game, but we hit a post with five minutes left that would have tied it."
Fast start
Led by Kristin McCann — who had two goals on the game — the Tar Heels jumped out to a 3-0 lead. North Carolina outshot Princeton 16-7 and had five penalty corners to the Tigers' three.
But Princeton would not lie down, as freshman defender Cory Picketts scored on a penalty corner with 19 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the game. Picketts was assisted by two seniors — attack Hilary Matson and defender Bridget Marchesi.
Less than two minutes later, Matson beat Carolina goalie Amy Tran for her seventh goal of the season, bringing Princeton to within one score. The Tigers could not tie the game up, and were left to deal with their frustrations against Old Dominion the next day.
"We got a lot out of Sunday's game," Bozman said. "We really gave them a fight, and we had a number of opportunities."
The first half was scoreless until the Monarchs' Angie Loy beat sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Baril with just four seconds remaining in the half — a tough break for the Tigers, who had come out of the gate quickly.
"The first goal was on a mental mistake," Meerschwam said. "You could say that the defense wasn't paying attention."
Whatever the reason, Princeton found itself attempting to come from behind again. But this time, the Tigers tied the game. Sophomore defender Emily Townsend scored on a penalty corner with 9:12 remaining. Matson and senior midfielder Kellie Maul picked up the assists.
With 9:55 remaining in overtime, Old Dominon's Julie Miracle, one of the Monarchs' top players, took a pass from Marina DiGiacomo and beat Baril, allowing Old Dominion to avoid the upset.
"The second goal came after a bad pass from a defender went straight to the stick of one of their players," Meerschwam said. "It was another mental breakdown."
The Monarchs outshot Princeton, 20-8, and the teams had six corners apiece. But overall, the Tigers played a much more complete game against Old Dominion than they had against North Carolina, with certain individuals performing exceptionally well.
Bright spots
"Melanie played really well," Bozman said. "She had Marina DiGiacomo shut down — maybe the only person to do that all year — and still was involved on the attack.
"Hilary played well all weekend and so did Emily and Bridget on the defense," she added. "Against Old Dominion, just about everybody played well."
But the Tigers have lost three straight, and they know that something has to change if they are to have a chance against the nation's best competition later this season and in the NCAA tournament.
"We were outshot and outcornered — we need to force the ball upfield, rather than shoot the ball from the backfield," Meerschwam said. "Our defense hasn't been involved in the attack, and our midfield and attack play back, so we need a lot of field to get out of that. We had a couple of breakaways, and if you play to counterattack, you need to convert on those opportunities."
Bozman had a different explanation for the team's inability to win any of its last three games.
"It's partly because of the Ivy schedule. We've only played eight games, and Old Dominion has played 14. At this stage, we are playing well," she said.
The crucial conference schedule takes precedence during the next few weeks, starting with a matchup against Brown — the only Ivy team to beat Princeton in the last six years — 1 p.m. Saturday at 1952 Stadium.
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