Offensive explosion clinches seventh straight title for f. hockey

With three games in six days, Fall Break was no time for relaxing for the field hockey team (13-3 overall, 7-0 Ivy League). It became, however, a time for celebration as Princeton posted three big wins over UConn, Cornell and Penn, earning its seventh consecutive Ivy championship.

...Princeton kicked off the week with a 2-0 shutout win over then-No. 10 UConn. The team traveled north to Storrs, Conn., Sunday, where it encountered unusually cold weather. Fierce winds and snow, however, would not prevent the Tigers from dominating the game.

"I was worried about the snow, and I think the team shared that concern," sophomore defender Emily Townsend said. "It does make the play more difficult and challenging because your body just responds differently to the cold and the snow inhibits the visibility aspect a lot more and it limits the ability to concentrate."

Though the first period flew by nearly scoreless, the Tigers eventually found their stride. Frigid fans finally saw the game's first goal when Townsend found the back of UConn's net off assists from senior attack Hilary Matson and senior midfielder Kellie Maul.

A minute later, the Huskies tried to tie the score with a penalty conversion but were unsuccessful. This is how the rest of the game would carry on as UConn would continue to struggle, unable to get the ball past Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Kelly Baril.

"I don't think UConn was doing so well defensively in the first half," Townsend said. "I also thought we just had difficulty capitalizing on our opportunities."

The second half turned into a rally of corner shots. Penalty corners provided many scoring opportunities for both the Tigers and the Huskies. Neither team would take advantage, however, until eight minutes, 23 seconds remained in the game.

Assisted by Matson, Townsend scored her second goal of the game off another corner and helped solidify Princeton's lead. Though the Huskies would graze the goal posts several more times before the final buzzer, they would leave the field without a score.

Cornell had the same problem on Tuesday when it faced Princeton in Ithaca, N.Y. The Tigers turned out a spectacular performance as they defeated the Big Red, 6-1.

Within the first 30 seconds of play, senior captain Melanie Meerschwam tallied the first goal of the contest off a penalty stroke.

Assisted by Meerschwam, Maul would later elevate the Tigers to a 2-0 lead. Princeton started off with an amazing intensity that would never dwindle, as they outshot the Big Red 24-0 in the first half.

While the second half saw only six attempts on goal from Cornell, Princeton had 18 more shots, four of which found the back of Cornell's net. At the start of the second half, Matson tallied the third goal for the Tigers. With 12:31 left on the clock, Matson would score her second goal of the day.

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Cornell would eventually respond with a goal on its first penalty stroke of the game. Princeton, however, held onto the ball for the remainder of the game and extended its lead to 6-1 with goals from Meerschwam and freshman Corey Pickets. With this victory, Princeton earned its seventh straight Ivy crown and the subsequent automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

"It was very relieving and reassuring to get the seventh straight Ivy title because we knew we deserved it," Townsend said. "It also gave us an automatic bid into the tournament which has been our goal for this season."

Never looked back

Penn saw an even more well prepared Tiger team Friday night at 1952 Stadium, falling to Princeton by a score of 9-0. In their final game of the regular season, the Tigers got off to a fast start behind quick goals from Miller and Matson in the first 10 minutes of play. Meerschwam widened the gap minutes later when she scored off a penalty stroke. She, along with Maul, each netted one more goal before the end of the first half. The Quakers, winless in the Ivy League, would only manage two shots on goal.

Princeton, however, applied pressure until the very end with Miller, Matson and Maul each contributing two goals on the evening. Pickets tallied the ninth and final goal of the game as the Tigers capped off another undefeated Ivy League season with a resounding victory.