As the old saying goes, nothing in life is certain except death and taxes. However, with the capture of its eighth consecutive Ivy League championship this weekend, the Princeton field hockey team is making a bid to be included as one of life's sure bets.
The Tigers entered the break knowing the title was theirs to lose with games against Yale, Cornell and Penn. Princeton defeated Cornell as expected, drubbing the Big Red, 8-0, on Oct. 27. Then the Tigers faltered against Yale, but escaped with a close 3-2 victory. Princeton finished the break reasserting its Ivy supremacy against Penn, disposing of the Quakers, 6-1, winning its eighth straight Ivy title.
Junior forward Ilvy Friebe continued her domination as she scored three times to lead Princeton to victory over the Big Red (7-8, 2-4). Friebe scored three goals and five Tigers had assists as Princeton trounced the overmatched visitors.
Yale (7-10, 1-6) came to town Oct. 30 for a matchup of the Ivy League's best and worst teams. However, the Bulldogs were up to the challenge and nearly played David to Princeton's Goliath.
Friebe got the scoring started for the Tigers when she received a pass from junior Rachael Becker and maneuvered around the Yale defense to put the ball in the net at 26:23 of the first half. She added to the lead with another at 20:40. The goal was Friebe's 13th during Ivy League play this season, breaking the previous single-season record of 12.
Yale cut the lead in half with a goal by sophomore Jana Halfon at 10:24 of the first period.
The lead held up until 11:39 of the second half, when Yale's Caroline Thompson scored off a penalty corner.
The Tigers regained the lead a minute later when freshman midfielder Natalie Martirosian knocked in a Becker pass at 10:24. The goal would stand up as the game winner, and the Tigers escaped the Bulldogs' threat shaken but unscathed.
"The Yale game showed us that we can't just sit back and expect to win," Friebe said. "They just had a great gameplan, and the coach had seen a lot of us play over the summer."
"We had disappointing play against Yale, but we never doubted ourselves," sophomore midfielder Claire Miller said. "Losing wasn't an option."
Princeton completed its Ivy season Friday night with a 6-1 championship-clinching victory over Penn (6-10, 6-1). The Tigers have dominated the Ivy League for eight years and are now 54-1 over that period.
The Quakers got on the board first with a goal by senior Aparna Wilder at 32:20 of the first half. The lead did not last long, however, as Friebe added to her record-setting goal total with a diving score at 25:12. Martirosian tallied the eventual game-winner at 24:19 off a perfect pass into the circle from sophomore midfielder Claire Miller. Princeton scored twice more before the end of the period, giving themselves a 4-1 cushion at halftime. Friebe and Townsend added goals in the second half to bring the total to 6-1 and assure the Tigers their title.

"This was our number one goal from the start of the season," head coach Beth Bozman said.
"Every Ivy League game is the most important game in our season, because of the automatic [NCAA] bid for the Ivy Champ," Miller said. "It's important that we start preparing for the NCAA, so we used last weekend's games to fine-tune."
With the win, Princeton concludes its Ivy League season. The Tigers will find out who they will face in their bid for the NCAA Championship when the seedings are announced Tuesday at 8 p.m.
As for the team's chances, the Tigers are realistic.
"If we play our best, we have a fair chance to win, but if we have an off-day we're going to get punished."