For ten straight years, from 1994 to 2003, the outcome had been as certain as death and taxes — at the end of every Ivy League field hockey season, Princeton sat atop the standings.
But on Nov. 6, the Tigers found themselves in an unfamiliar place: second place in the Ivy league, their season over, no NCAA tournament to play in. That afternoon at Class of 1952 Stadium, Penn's Cara Callahan scored off a penalty corner with no time remaining in the game, giving the Quakers a 2-1 victory — and the league title.
"We knew that the Ivy League was on the line and we knew they were going to be tough," junior midfielder Hillary Schmidt said. "We just didn't really click in the first half, and they capitalized."
Early in the season, it became clear this year's Princeton team (7-10 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) was not the juggernaut it had been in past seasons. After opening the Ivy slate with a 6-0 win over Yale, the Tigers fell to Dartmouth, 3-1, on Sept. 18, snapping a 32-game home winning streak. The loss dropped Princeton to 1-5 overall.
Still, the Tigers regrouped, winning their next four league games. The hardest to come by was an Oct. 23 home victory over Harvard. Schmidt scored both of Princeton's goals, including the game winner with 1:20 left in the second half. With the win, the Tigers only needed a win over Penn to claim the Ivy crown — and the accompanying berth to the NCAA tournament.
It was not to be, though, and Princeton was left wondering what might have been.
"I think we went in to this season with high expectations and a lot of tradition," Schmidt said, "and we were disappointed."
The Tigers graduate eight seniors, including four All-Ivy league honorees. Defender Lizzie Black and senior midfielder Natalie Martirosian made the first team, while defender Kelly Darling and Alexis Martirosian both earned honorable mentions. Junior midfielder Maren Ford and freshman attack Paige Schmidt were also honored, both making the second team.
While replacing the skills and leadership of those seniors will be difficult, a strong recruiting class and the returning players foster hope that next season will prove that this one was only an aberration.
"We definitely want to win the Ivy League and that's our primary goal," Hillary Schmidt said. "We have pretty high expectations of ourselves."
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