Field hockey opens league play with victory over Yale

Former men's basketball coach John Thompson '88 often said that while his teams played many games from October to March, the real season took place within the walls of the Ancient Eight. With the winner of the Ivy League crown gaining automatic entry into the NCAA tournament, Ivy wins and losses simply mean more.

The field hockey team seems to have taken Thompson's words to heart. While still winless against non-conference foes, the Tigers (1-3 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) took the first step towards their 11th straight Ivy title last Saturday with a 6-0 drubbing of rival Yale (1-2, 0-1). Although Princeton could not escape the Constitution State undefeated, losing to Connecticut on Sunday, 4-0, the weekend was better than simply a draw for the Tigers.

Princeton seemed to sense the importance of its first Ivy League game from the moment that the team stepped onto Johnson Field. As they have all season, the Tigers peppered Eli goalie Kate Crandall with shots from the opening whistle.

Senior defender Kelly Darling broke through on a penalty corner to give the Tigers the early lead at 20 minutes, 44 seconds of the first half. Senior forward Lauren Quinn took advantage of another corner before halftime to send Princeton to the locker room with a 2-0 advantage.

The Tigers had not gone into the second half with a lead in a game yet this season. Not one to let this opportunity go to waste, the team played as if it was down two goals rather than up by a deuce.

Princeton continued to challenge the Yale defense, outshooting the Elis in the game, 26-3, and forcing Crandall to put up 17 saves. The Tigers also continued to draw penalty corners throughout, gaining the advantage 11 times to Yale's one.

This offensive onslaught resulted in four second-half goals for the Tigers, a team that had scored only once in its first two games.

Junior midfielder Hillary Schmidt converted a pass from senior midfielder Natalie Martirosian at 22:59 of the second half to increase the lead to three.

Immediately following that, junior attack Lauren Ehrlichman went to work. Ehrlichman scored off a pass from junior midfielder Maren Ford only one minute after Schmidt's goal, effectively sealing the game for Princeton. But that was not the end of it, as Ehrlichman went on to score twice more, collecting the natural hat trick and delivering to the Tigers a 6-0 win.

While the victory was important for Princeton, it was hardly unexpected. The Tigers own an impressive 37-2-3 record all-time against Yale, and Saturday's win marked Princeton's 32nd straight Ivy victory.

Princeton's games against Connecticut (6-0) have traditionally been much closer. Last season, the Huskies withstood a late Tiger charge to escape Princeton with a 1-0 victory. In 2002, it was the Tigers who emerged victorious, earning a 4-3 victory off of Ilvy Friebe '03's goal in double overtime.

But Sunday's game was not nearly so close. Princeton got a taste of its own medicine as Connecticut came out of the gates swinging. The Huskies outshot the Tigers, 12-2, in the opening frame, knocking Princeton back on its heels and making it difficult for the Orange and Black to generate any offense.

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Connecticut's high-pressure attack paid off with two goals in the first half, sending Princeton into halftime in the hole.

Down by two, Princeton once again came into the second half firing. The Tigers earned nine penalty corners in the half, compared to only two for Connecticut, but they could not convert. Huskies goalie Melissa Bostwick was up to the task, making six of her seven saves in the final frame. Princeton was shut out for the second time this season.

The Tigers will need to get their offense in gear if they hope to defeat Maryland at home on Friday. The Terrapins (6-0) have been on a tear to open the season, scoring an average of 4.5 goals a game. This included a 6-0 thrashing of Old Dominion, one of college field hockey's traditional powerhouses.

After the Terps, Princeton hosts Dartmouth. The Big Green squeaked out a 1-0 victory over Brown last weekend.