Once again, field hockey matches up well with nation's elite

Everyone knows that we have a field hockey team here at Princeton and that they are pretty good. The rumors drift in from Class of 1952 Stadium that the Tigers beat the defending national champions or pummeled another Ivy League opponent, but what does that really mean? How good is Princeton field hockey, and how do they stack up against the best teams in the nation?

Princeton is ranked seventh in the latest Division I National Coaches Poll. The other teams in the top ten are Old Dominion, Maryland, Wake Forest, Michigan, North Carolina, Michigan State, Virginia, Louisville and Ohio State, in that order.

These teams all play in different leagues, but have many out-of-league opponents in common, as they each try to schedule games against the nation's elite every season.

Old Dominion sits atop the coaches poll this week for the first time this season. The defending national champions were ranked second in the initial poll but fell to third and then fourth after opening losses against Michigan and Michigan State. The Lady Monarchs are captained by Adrienne Yoder, a strong senior back with six goals and two assists on the season, and their leading scorer is junior Tara Herrmann.

Princeton beat ODU, 2-1, on Sept. 30 for its biggest win of the year. The loss was the Lady Monarchs' third but their first since leaving the state of Michigan in August.

Old Dominion came back strong after the loss and posted an important win over No. 11 William and Mary. They then scored an overtime victory over then-top-ranked Maryland to defeat them for the second time this year and take over No. 1.

Maryland has consistently posed a problem for the Tigers. In the second round of last season's NCAA playoffs, the Terps ousted the Tigers, 3-1. Earlier this year, Princeton fell to Maryland by the same score.

The Terps are led by senior Dina Rizzo and freshman Colleen Barbieri, who has made an immediate impact as the leading scorer on the team. The Terrapins have an important ACC contest coming up on Saturday when they play No. 5 North Carolina.

The Tar Heels, ranked No. 1 in the initial coaches poll, fell to fifth after losses to No. 3 Wake Forest and unranked Kent State. UNC is relying on a talented corps of freshmen this year, unusual in a league in which redshirting is the norm.

Freshman Kelsey Keeran has been asked to fill the void left by graduated leading scorers Kristen McCann and Holly Huff, and she has stepped into the roll admirably. Keeran is third on the team in scoring behind Abbey Woolley and Abby Martin. Freshman back Carey Fetting-Smith and forward Kerry Falgowski are also being asked to contribute.

The young team will play a pivotal game on Wednesday against Old Dominion, in what could be a preview of late-round NCAA action.

With these strong teams and many others battling it out, one thing has become evident — no one team is going to run away with the title this year.

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"I think it's different this year because there are seven to eight teams who could win a national championship," head coach Beth Bozman said. "There's so much parity among the top seven to eight teams in the league, and we really feel that we're one of the teams that could win it."

With Princeton's success over the last few years, they have emerged as a team to beat. Despite being doubleand triple-teamed throughout games, junior attack Ilvy Friebe continues to lead in the nation in scoring.

"I can't imagine that anyone's going to catch her," Bozman said. "People are keying in on her and she's not only double-teamed but beaten to a pulp every game. But because of that her assists have gone up."

Bozman will look to others on the team to pick up the slack. Junior attack Rachael Becker was recently named Ivy League Player of the Week for her goals against Delaware, Brown and Connecticut.