Field hockey owns Ivy League, comes up short of Final Four in tournament

Field hockey's goal coming into this season was a very simple one — to win the national title.

While the Tigers fell short of that goal, they still had a successful season, winning their ninth consecutive Ivy title and knocking out the defending national champions, Michigan, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Princeton (12-7 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) dominated the rest of the league all season and won the title with ease. They surrendered only six goals in seven league games, while shutting out Yale, 7-0, and Penn, 3-0.

During the regular season, Princeton struggled out of the conference as they posted a 5-6 record. However, one look at the level of competition the team faced, and it can be seen why that happened.

Princeton faced No. 1 Old Dominion twice, falling just short in each attempt. They also played No. 3 Michigan, No. 5 Maryland, No. 13 North Carolina, and No. 15 Connecticut during the course of the regular season. The Tigers defeated the Tar Heels, 4-2, in Virginia. Sophomore midfielder Natalie Martirosian keyed the Tiger victory with two goals.

In addition to their team accomplishments, individual players also collected many accolades. Senior captain and attack Ilvy Friebe won Ivy League Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row. That is only the third time in Ivy League history that that has happened.

Friebe finished fourth in the nation in points with 57, and added 23 goals and 11 assists. She finished her Princeton career second all-time in goals with 168. She was once again a unanimous all-Ivy selection.

Three of her teammates joined her as unanimous selections: Martirosian, junior midfielder Claire Miller, and senior captain and defense Emily Townsend.

Miller scored six goals and also added four assists during the season. This was her second year in a row on the all-Ivy team. Martirosian followed up a 2001 campaign in which she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year by finishing fifth in the league in total points with 29. She was also fifth in goals (11). Townsend anchored the ultra-stingy Tiger defense by controlling the Princeton end of the field. She was selected to the all-Ivy team for the third time in four years.

Junior midfielder Cory Picketts was a second team selection. Sophomore attack Lizzy Black and senior goalkeeper Kelly Baril earned honorable mentions.

Princeton head coach Beth Bozman also passed the 200th win milestone as head coach at Princeton with a 5-2 win over Cornell. This was her 15th season as head coach of the Tigers. Bozman has led the Tigers to four Final Fourr appearances (1996, 1997, 1998, 2001) and the national time game twice (1996, 1998).

Princeton's most impressive win of the season came last weekend against No. 4 Michigan. The Tiger's lost to the Wolverines in last year's Final Four. The outcome this year was much different.

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The Tiger's pulled off the 4-3 victory, as senior captain and attack Rachel Becker tallied two goals. Becker scored the game-winner with less than five minutes remaining.

Martirosian and junior midfielder Kelly Darling also scored for the Tigers.

Next, though, the Tigers ran into a red-hot Penn State team, and fell, 3-2. The Nittany Lions opened a three-goal lead in the first half and the Tigers could not recover. Friebe added two second-half goals, but Princeton could not overcome the early deficit.

Princeton seniors ended their careers with a 27-1 career league record, including winning their last 24 league games.

However, for Friebe, Becker, Townsend, Baril, senior goalkeeper Zehra Nizami, senior midfielder Kristen Skorupski, and senior defense Becky Wood, they ended their careers with just one thing missing, a national championship.