Field hockey falls 3-2 to Ohio in season opener, routs Yale 7-0

If anyone thought a return trip to the Final Four would be a relatively easy task for the field hockey team, they were quickly shown otherwise in the opening weekend of competition.

The Tigers opened this season with a bit of a sour taste in their mouths after dropping their first game of the season, 3-2, to Ohio on Friday. However, the Tigers were able to bounce back with a dominant effort yesterday, as they defeated Yale, 7-0.

Against the Bobcats, Princeton came out very flat in the first half and Ohio was able to completely dominate play. The Bobcats were able to earn a couple of quick corners and kept the pressure on senior goalkeeper Kelly Baril.

Finally, with 19:32 left in the first half, Lindsay Rothenberger hammered in her own rebound past Baril to put Ohio on top, 1-0.

Princeton continued its poor play, as sloppy passes and porous defense allowed Ohio to retain possession in the Tiger's end for long stretches of time.

"Our defense in the first half was very poor," sophomore midfielder Natalie Martirosian said. "They were taking advantage of our transition defense."

If not for some beautiful defensive plays, the Tigers could have found themselves down by even more. With 8:17 left in the half, Ohio peppered Baril with a number of shots from up close, and Baril came up huge every time.

However, at the 32:05 mark, Ohio was once again able to take advantage of the soft Princeton defense, and sophomore Elizabeth Unger put the ball away in the right corner of the goal.

The Tigers refused to fold, however, and came out fired up in the second half. They were clearly the more aggressive team. The Bobcats were now on their heels and Princeton was pushing them around.

"We came out in the second half and had a huge improvement," said Martirosian. "We were working together well."

The Tigers were unable to convert a penalty shot at 37:59, as Ohio goalkeeper Ashley Pitkin made a diving stop on the shot by Martirosian.

Princeton was not discouraged and kept up the offensive pressure. They finally broke through with 21 minutes left.

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Martirosian dribbled down the right side, past two Ohio defenders, and was able to get the ball to sophomore attack Nicole Riner.

Riner was able to get the ball to freshman midfielder Hillary Schmidt who hammered home the empty netter to bring Princeton within one.

The Tigers got the equalizer only six minutes later when another freshman, this time attacker Ali Shames-Dawson, tied the game at two.

Princeton was able to get the ball inside near the goal to junior midfielder Cory Picketts. Picketts fired a strike across the circle to Shames-Dawson, who trapped the ball, turned and a fired a bullet past a diving Pitkin for the tying goal.

After such an energetic comeback the Tigers were unable to sustain the same pressure. Ohio charged back and worked the ball deep into Princeton territory. Only three minutes later an Ohio shot was stopped by Baril, but the ball got stuck in her pads. This gave Ohio a penalty shot.

Andrea Voros put the ball in the left corner of the net for what proved to be the winning goal. Despite constant pressure for the final ten minutes of the game, Princeton was not able to get off a clean shot at Pitkin.

"We were able to step up in the second half, but we have to play for the whole game" head coach Beth Bozman said.

It should be noted that all three of Princeton's senior co-captains did not play in this game. Attackers Ilvy Friebe and Rachel Becker, along with defender Emily Townsend were in street clothes for the game. Nobody from the team issued any comment as to why the captains did not play.

The loss was not crippling to the Tiger's season, but was an early reminder that a return trip to the Final Four will not come easily.

The Tigers responded as true winners do with a solid effort only two days later. In their first Ivy League contest of the season Princeton dominated the Elis from start to finish in a 7-0 victory.

Friebe made a triumphant return to the lineup and scored the first two goals for the Tigers. She scored her first just eight minutes into the match, and added her second goal just a minute later.

The Tigers added two more goals in the first half, one courtesy of Pickett and the other from freshman attack Maren Ford. Pickett also had an assist on Ford's goal, which came with only eight seconds left in the half.

Pickett resumed the scoring early in the second half when she scored an unassisted goal seven minutes in. Freshman attack Ashley Sennett added a goal three minutes later and Ford completed the scoring, netting her second of the game with only 7 minutes left. Friebe picked up assists on each of the last two goals to finish with four total points.

With any early season jitters hopefully behind them, Princeton now looks to play the way it always knew it could as they get into the meat of their schedule. They resume play on Wednesday against Columbia.