Tigers blank Big Green on road, now 2-0 in Ivy

After Dartmouth knocked the women's field hockey team out of contention for the Ivy League title last year, the first time the Big Green had defeated the Tigers in 15 games, the returning Princeton players have marked Sept. 17 on their calendars as the day they could finally exact their revenge.

The Tigers (2-4 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) did exactly that, ending Dartmouth's undefeated season with a 4-0 win this Saturday. Despite lacking the home-field advantage, Princeton dominated the Big Green, showing impressive strength from the defense.

The Tigers were not, however, able to come away from the weekend undefeated. Princeton matched up against No. 13 Northeastern (6-1) on Sunday, falling 3-1. Still, the Tigers' primary goal was to maintain their untarnished Ivy record.

"It was a huge game because last year we lost 3-1 to Dartmouth, and that was basically the game that cost us the Ivy League title," sophomore attack Sarah Yuki said. "It was big payback time this year, and a lot was riding on this game."

The Princeton attack showed its clout early on with a 2-0 lead by the end of the first half. Senior midfielder Maren Ford slotted the first goal for the Tigers 11 minutes, 49 seconds into the game. Freshman midfielder Sarah Reinprecht drove a shot off a penalty corner, and Ford redirected it into the goal for the 1-0 lead.

Freshman attack Katie Kinzer notched the second goal a few minutes later with an assist by Yuki. Yuki led the team in points with a goal and two assists against the Big Green.

The rest of the half remained scoreless despite avid attempts by Dartmouth to penetrate its opponent's half of the field.

The second half again highlighted Princeton's defensive dominance as the Big Green failed to get a shot off. Dartmouth was unable to answer back as the Tigers scored two more, starting with an unassisted goal by Yuki with five minutes left in regulation.

"At halftime the score was only 2-0," Yuki said. "When I went in during the second half, I made up my mind to try and run up the score. I saw my chance with the ball at the top of the circle and my back towards the cage. I flung it as hard as I could towards the goal because the key in field hockey is the element of surprise, not a perfect shot."

Sophomore midfield Nicole Ng then sealed the deal off a pass from Yuki to give Princeton a 4-0 lead.

The Tiger defense was the major difference in the game. They let the Big Green get only four shots off the entire game, compared to Princeton's 14. The Tigers were especially handy at shutting down Dartmouth's specialty: a drag flicker shot that is raised off the ground for maximum speed. The Big Green was unable to attack with that shot off penalty corners, another of its strengths.

"I kind of knew in my gut that we were going to win," Yuki said. "I knew that we had to play our hardest to put them away, but that we're here to stay and win the Ivy League."

Shut down

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Northeastern, the Tigers' opponent on Sunday, had reason to be confident about its chances against Princeton, coming in with a four-game winning streak. But that didn't intimidate the Tigers.

"We were very confident because we've played a lot of ranked teams and played well against them," freshman attack Emily Williams said.

The Huskies' Ashley Webber sent the game's first two goals into the back of the Tigers' cage, giving Northeastern the lead. Her first goal came off a pass from Whitney Shean six minutes into the first half. Princeton was not able to get on the board early on, and the score remained 1-0 until the start of the second half. Webber broke away from the field to send in her second goal of the game, this time unassisted. The Tigers answered back with Williams' first collegiate goal — the only Princeton goal.

"It was pretty exciting — I went in with 20 minutes left in the game," Williams said. "I was on the right side of the circle, and I pulled right and shot it into the left post. I almost fell over so I didn't see it go in."

Down by just one goal, 2-1, the Tigers saw their chances at a comeback dwindle when the Huskies scored again seven minutes later with a goal from Michaela O'Malley. Northeastern made good use of the field as Natalie Singelais passed across to the far post where O'Malley deflected the ball into the cage.

Princeton was afforded a few opportunities late in the game to catch up to the Huskies on several penalty corners, but the Tigers were unable to convert the chances into goals.

"We were dominating offensively in the second half, but we couldn't put it in," Williams said. "They squeezed their last shot into the side of the goal."

On the whole, they were not outmatched, however, as both teams had an equal 14 shots on goal. Northeastern had the advantage in the category that mattered, though, scoring three goals.

"Our coach says it's in the details like keeping knuckles on the ground when we're taking the shot," Williams said.

Both teams' goalkeepers put forth impressive performances under pressure. Junior goalkeeper Allison Nemeth saved eight for Princeton, and Huskies keeper Colleen Duffy preserved the Northeastern advantage with seven saves.

Princeton will be looking to continue its Ivy success as it faces off against Columbia at home on Saturday.