Field hockey trapped in Spiders' web

The rollercoaster ride continued for the field hockey team this weekend as it eked out a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Boston University on Friday but fell to the No. 11 Richmond Spiders on Sunday, 1-0. Despite playing well in the second half of both games, the Tigers (3-7 overall, 2-1 Ivy League) suffered from sluggish starts. Friday afternoon's game against BU (5-4) looked anything but promising from the beginning. The Terriers came out firing and the team netted three goals within the first six minutes of the game. Each goal was either directly or indirectly a result of a penalty corner. Lauren Vendetti assisted Ashley Parker off a blocked shot for the first goal, and scored one for herself just minutes later off a penalty corner. Jen Joyce then scored on a straight shot off a rebound.

The Tigers opted for a timeout to regroup from the disastrous and wild beginning. This decision proved beneficial as junior midfielder Hillary Schmidt drove one into the goal minutes later. The unassisted goal made the score 3-1 in the Terriers' favor as the two teams headed to the locker room at the half.

It didn't take Princeton long to get into its groove in the second half. Fifty-nine seconds in, the Tigers had a penalty corner opportunity, and senior defender Lizzie Black scored on a beautiful shot to make it 3-2.

Princeton subsequently failed to convert on four more penalty corners until senior defender Kelly Darling evened the game on a lift. Shortly after the goal, another Tiger corner resulted in a goal by freshman midfielder Paige Schmidt to give Princeton its first lead of the game. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Terriers responded with a Sarah Shute goal four minutes later.

The Tigers' offense dominated the rest of the second half but could not seem to get the ball in the cage — a serious problem that has plagued the team all season. Fortunately, Darling stepped up with one minute, 24 seconds left in regulation and redirected Black's shot on another penalty corner to secure Princeton's first win at home this season.

"I'm really only waiting there by the post in case Lizzie's shot is a little wide," Darling said. "The play isn't really designed for me, but it worked out for the best."

Coming up empty

While the Tigers were able to gut out a gritty win on Friday afternoon, Sunday morning proved to be a different story. The match against Richmond (8-2) featured the same sluggish start and offensively strong second half, but this time the shots didn't find their intended target.

Princeton again found itself in a hole in the early minutes. A Spider penalty corner 2:50 into the first half resulted in a goal by Holly Cram. The junior midfielder stickhandled to the right of the circle before zinging the shot past sophomore goalie Juliana Simon.

Once again, the Tiger attack dominated throughout the second half, outshooting the Spiders, 11-2, and earning six penalty corner opportunities. The Tigers were continuously frustrated, however, and failed to score. Richmond's defense was outstanding as goalkeeper Michelle Schwartz saved all of Princeton's five second-half shots on goal.

The Tigers had several frustrating close misses as the clock wound down. On a penalty corner, Schwartz made a dive to the right to stop senior midfielder Alexis Martirosian's shot and then sprung up to block junior midfielder Maren Ford's rebound attempt.

It appeared as if the desperate Princeton team had tied up the game with 30 seconds left when Paige Schmidt shot the ball into the goal on a penalty corner. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the shot was ruled too high by the referees, and the goal was not counted. The Spiders ran down the clock and several Princeton players tossed their sticks to the sideline in disappointment. While the Tigers played a solid game, the team was handed another loss due to its inability to finish its shots and put the ball in the goal.