Friebe notches four goals as field hockey starts Ivy season with blowout of hapless Columbia

You had to feel sorry for the players on the Columbia field hockey team.

They did everything Princeton asked of them, driving down like good little Lions to 1952 Stadium on a Wednesday night, arriving on time, ready to play.

There were no insults, no outrageous claims, nothing that should have raised the ire of the mighty Tigers.

And yet after seventy minutes, the Tigers sent the Lions home to New York with nothing to show for their efforts but the bitter taste of a 7-1 drubbing.

And, as one Columbia player moaned to her coach on the way to the bus, the Tigers did so with "no seniors!"

It did not take long for the Tigers to establish their superiority over the Lions. After 14 minutes in which the ball rarely left Columbia's half of the field, sophomore attack Cory Picketts began the scoring barrage with a penalty shot goal.

Five minutes later, assisted by sophomore midfielder Claire Miller, Picketts scored again. By the time the first half was over, the score was 4-0 and any hope of a Columbia victory was gone.

Of course, when you are as good as the Tigers are, sometimes domination isn't quite enough.

According to junior attack Ilvy Friebe, who has looked just about unstoppable on the field these first few weeks, the first half was somewhat disappointing: "We kept dribbling into their sticks early in the game. We weren't as sharp as we could have been."

Friebe's comments show that the Tigers have to remain focused going into big games against non-conference foes such as Old Dominion in the coming weeks.

Dull as they may have been in their own minds, the Tigers were nonetheless far too good for Columbia. With 21:25 left in the second half, Friebe slipped through a crowd of Columbia defenders to score her third goal of the game and her second goal of the half, making the score 6-0.

At that point, junior goalkeeper Kelly Baril had not faced a single shot.

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Though Friebe's potent offensive ability is inevitably the focus of a great deal of attention, the Tiger midfield and defense has been just as impressive.

Anchored by the play of freshman midfielder Natalie Matirosian and Miller, the Tiger defense was all but impregnable.

"We always believe we have a chance for a shutout. Every game we think we can shut the other team down," Miller, who had two assists in the game, said.

The Lions finally broke through with a tally with eight minutes left as the Tigers had made wholesale substitutions, but it was far too little, far too late.

As if to show just how wide a divide separated the two teams, Friebe followed the Lion goal with a goal of her own, giving her a total of four goals, and the Tigers a resounding 7-1 victory.

From every angle, it was a great night for the Tigers, who are looking to win their eight consecutive Ivy League title.

"We wanted to send a clear message," said Friebe, "and that message is that we will dominate."

Saturday, May 10

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