Penn State ends field hockey season in first round

For the field hockey team, winning on Saturday would have meant proving that it could be successful outside of the Ivy League. It also would have meant vengeance against Penn State, the team that knocked Princeton out of last year's NCAA tournament in the second round.

But unfortunately for the Tigers, endings to sports stories don't always turn out like they do in the movies.

Princeton (12-6) lost, 3-1, to No. 7 Penn State (18-16) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the University of Maryland's Field Hockey/Lacrosse Complex.

The Nittany Lions controlled the game early, and never looked back. Princeton didn't come out strong early in the first half, and that was the difference in the game.

Penn State's Timarie Legel got the scoring started, putting the ball past freshman goalie Allison Nemeth on a redirection shot 23 minutes and 58 seconds into the game.

The next goal of the game came with 34 seconds left in the first half, as Penn State's Karin Grap scored on a long-range shot from near the top of the circle. The Tigers questioned the goal, saying that it had come from outside of the circle.

With the goal, the Nittany Lions held a 2-0 lead at halftime. Princeton posted a mediocre first half, taking only six shots compared to Penn State's ten. The Nittany Lions also held a 7-2 first half advantage in the number of penalty corners earned.

"In the first half, I think passing-wise, we kind of got back on our heels slightly," junior attack Lizzie Black said. "We weren't making the smartest passes in the first half as much. But at the end of the first half, we started to play our game, making good, small passes."

In the second half, the Tigers began to come together and play sharp field hockey.

Princeton surged, taking six shots in the first twelve minutes of the new period. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Penn State's goalie, Annie Zinkavich, kept the score at 2-0 with diving saves on multiple occasions.

With 11:14 left in the game, Penn State struck again, as Grap scored her second goal of the day off of a rebounded shot.

Losing 3-0 with 11 minutes left, the Tigers' chances seemed to be running out. The Tigers had played well in the second half, but could not take advantage of their opportunities and get the ball past Zinkavich.

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With time expired, Black scored Princeton's only goal of the game on a penalty corner opportunity, to break the shutout and end the game at 3-1.

Nemeth recorded 10 saves in the contest, keeping the Tigers within striking distance for most of the game.

The loss comes almost exactly one year after Penn State had eliminated Princeton in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. The Tigers have now lost to Penn State for straight times.

Although the season ended in a first round elimination from the NCAA tournament, Princeton has accomplished a lot in a year in which it was counted out by many.

The Tigers got a new head coach, Kristen Holmes-Winn, before the season started. Previous head coach Beth Bozman had been in charge of the Princeton program for the last 15 years. In addition, the team saw seven seniors from last year's squad graduate.

"Although it was our worst NCAA finish, I think that everyone would say that it's been the best team effort through the year," Black said. "It was a great year, an amazing experience. We made tremendous strides in our level of hockey."

The Tigers' accomplishments this year are many. They won their tenth consecutive Ivy League title, and had eight players receive All-Ivy honors. Senior midfielder Claire Miller was named Ivy League Player of the Year, while Nemeth was given the Rookie of the Year title.

Despite falling short in their final game, the Tigers have had yet another successful season.