After posting a disappointing 4-6 non-Ivy record during the regular season, the field hockey team traveled to the NCAA tournament looking to prove itself against the best.
The team accomplished that goal in the first round, surprising defending-champion Michigan with a 4-3 win at Penn State on Saturday.
During second round play, however, the Tigers' season-long troubles with capitalizing on scoring opportunities resurfaced in their 3-2 loss to Penn State.
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold. In the 35-degree, rainy weather, the Tigers had their revenge in a rematch of last year's semifinal game against Michigan in Kent, Ohio. Last year, Michigan knocked the Tigers out of the tournament with a 4-2 win, before going on to win the NCAA championship.
The game showcased two speedy teams with powerful offenses, who played an exciting back and forth game with many fast break opportunities.
Michigan opened up the scoring 10 minutes, 28 seconds into the game, as Lori Hillman scored her first goal of the season on a shot high into the goal over senior goalie Kelly Baril.
Six minutes later, the Tigers tied the game on a penalty corner. After senior attack Ilvy Friebe fired a shot that was stopped by the Michigan goalkeeper, senior attack Rachael Becker managed to score in the scramble that followed. By halftime, the Wolverines had regained the lead, 2-1, on Hillman's second goal of the season.
After 20 minutes of back and forth play without a goal in the second half, sophomore defender Kelly Darling and junior midfielder Claire Miller scored within three minutes of each other to give Princeton its first lead of the day.
However, with 7:07 left in the game, Michigan managed to tie the score up on a penalty corner.
With 4:02 left in the game, Becker scored the game-winner. Sophomore attack Natalie Martirosian tallied the assist on the play, helping to hand Michigan field hockey its first-ever first round loss in NCAA history.
The weather on Sunday was no better when the Tigers matched up against the Nittany Lions on their home turf.
Penn State opened up the scoring just 2:53 into the game when Heather Conroy scored on a high shot from the top of the circle. The Nittany Lions continued to add pressure on offense, scoring again at 19:05.
Friebe answered back for the Tigers, scoring off of her own rebounded shot at 22:33, but Penn State pulled away just a minute later with another goal. Friebe managed another unassisted goal before the end of the first half to bring the score to 3-2.
Neither team scored in the second half, as the Tigers suffered from their season-long problem of not being able to turn scoring opportunities into goals against good teams.
The Tigers finish their 2002 season with a 12-7 record, highlighted by a perfect 7-0 record in the Ivy League.
Princeton vs. Michigan
Scoring:
First Half: UM - Hillman (Gannon), 11:26.
PU-Becker, 16:35.
UM-Hillman (Gannon), 21:28.
Second Half: PU-Darling (Miller), 57:50.
PU-N. Martirosian (Darling), 60:53.
UM-Rose (Johnson), 62:53.
PU-Becker (N. Martirosian), 65:58.
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