So far this season, the field hockey team has had some great highs and then some bad lows. Four losses in its first nine games is not what anyone was expecting. On the flip side, Princeton has had games of wonderful field hockey, including against Dartmouth and Rutgers. This weekend come the Tigers next two tests.
The Tigers take on UConn Saturday and then Boston University on Sunday, both in Storrs, Conn.
Princeton (5-4 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) comes in with some momentum after a relatively easy 5-1 victory over No. 17 Delaware Wednesday night. After Delaware scored the game's opening goal, the Tigers responded with five straight.
UConn (8-5, 2-0 Big East) comes into the game with a great deal of confidence after posting its biggest win of the season. It beat Big East rival Boston College, 1-0, in overtime on Wednesday night. The Eagles were then ranked No. 14 in the country.
The Huskies have played some solid games against tough competition this season. They seem to thrive when the odds are against them. They took No. 2 ranked Mich-igan to overtime before falling 2-1 and hung tough with No. 6 Penn St. Those performances earned Connecticut a spot in the SFX/NFHCA Coaches poll earlier in the year. They received a few votes this week, but were not ranked.
Boston University (6-5) also comes into the game playing some of its best field hockey of the year, on a three game-winning streak. It plays Maine on Saturday before playing Princeton on Sunday.
The Terriers also received votes in the national poll. Despite not having the talent level to stay with the Tigers, they could make the game interesting. The Terriers played No. 1 Maryland to a draw for 70 minutes before finally falling 1-0 in overtime.
With two big wins, Princeton could give itself some momentum heading into the rest of its Ivy League schedule. It is likely that Princeton will have to win the Ivy League title in order to make it into the NCAA tournament. Since the Tigers were not able to beat Maryland, Michigan St., or Old Dominion, the Tigers would probably not earn an at-large bid. Princeton does have another chance when they travel to Old Dominion early in November.
This puts even more pressure on every Ivy League game. Even one mistake could cost Princeton the title that it has won for nine consecutive seasons. Both Harvard and Cornell are also undefeated in the Ivy League.
Princeton has relied so far on senior attack Ilvy Friebe to jumpstart the offense, and she will have to continue her success for the team to be successful. Friebe has put up stellar numbers so far in the year.
Before Wednesday's game against Delaware, she was sixth in the nation with 29 points and led the nation with 4.14 points per game. That is more than half a point better than Old Dominion's Tiffany Snow, who was second. She was also fourth in the country with 13 goals scored and had the nation's best goals per game average at 1.86. She only improved on those numbers Wednesday, as she notched two goals and two assists for a total of six points.
While Friebe has had her way when she gets the ball, it has often been difficult for Princeton to get it to her. Many teams now alter their defenses to guard against her, and keep at least one defender and sometimes as many as three directly guarding her or in very close proximity.
A much bigger concern for Princeton though has been its inability to finish scoring chances around the goal area in big games. The Tigers have done a fine job of this against their weaker competion, but they have not been able to put the ball in the cage against the top-ranked teams.
This weekend will be a fine measuring stick for the team. These are two teams that Princeton should beat but two teams that play almost all opponents tough. Two dominating efforts would indicate that Princeton is ready to surge into the second half of the season.
Many people have doubted the Tigers this season, especially the coaches in their poll, but two dominating wins would be hard for anyone to ignore.
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