Tigers finish perfect in Ivy

After senior midfielder Hillary Schmidt scored the go-ahead goal against Penn with 10 minutes left in the game, the Tiger bench exploded. With a 2-1 victory against the Quakers (9-8 overall, 3-4 Ivy League), the field hockey team (9-8, 7-0) wrapped up its regular season with an undefeated record in the Ivy League.

The team certainly has a lot about which to cheer. The Tigers had already clinched their 14th Ivy League title two weekends ago with a 2-1 win against Harvard, but the Penn game was still important emotionally.

For one, Princeton was hungry to avenge last year's loss to the Quakers, which cost it the league title. And this was also the final chance for the four seniors on the team to play a regular-season game in a Tiger uniform.

After a scoreless first half, Penn got on the board first with a goal off a penalty corner from Kristen Gray. But the rest of the game was dominated by Princeton, thanks to effective play from the entire team as well as strong leadership from the seniors.

Tying the game on an unassisted goal with 19 minutes left, senior attack Lauren Ehrlichman capped off a great season. Ehrlichman has been a vital force on the team since her freshman year, and her leadership was a large part of the team's success this season. The victory over the Quakers was important for her from a personal standpoint as well.

"It felt great to score against Penn, especially given the circumstances," Ehrlichman said. "We were playing on a surface [field turf] that made it very difficult for us to play our game. It felt great to finally put the ball in the cage. When Hills [Schmidt] scored the game winner a few minutes later, we knew that there was no way we were walking off the field with a loss."

The deciding goal from Schmidt was assisted by her sister, sophomore midfielder Paige Schmidt. The sibling chemistry has been an important factor for the Tigers all season, and Paige leads the team with 11 goals and seven assists.

Overall, Princeton outshot Penn, 10-5, in the game. Junior goalie Allison Nemeth, who has been outstanding against Ivy opponents this season, also recorded two saves.

Tigers roar on Senior Night

Over Fall Break, the Tigers also won their first and only non-league game, shutting out Rutgers (7-11) in the home finale, 5-0. Dominating on offense and defense the entire game, Princeton outshot the Scarlet Knights, 23-5, and had 15 penalty corners, capitalizing on three of them.

Again, the effective play of the Schmidt sisters carried the Tigers to the win. Paige recorded a hat trick in the game, and one of her goals was assisted by Hillary, who was honored before the game along with fellow seniors Ehrlichman, midfielder Maren Ford and defender Liz Miller.

Ehrlichman scored the first goal for Princeton four minutes, 36 seconds into the game. Stealing a pass intended for a Rutgers' player, Ehrlichman demonstrated her talent at controlling the ball and blasted a shot past Scarlet Knights goalie Rosalyn Wentko.

Then, Paige put the Tigers ahead 2-0, capitalizing off a penalty corner assisted by freshman midfielder Sarah Reinprecht. Reinprecht is part of a freshman class that has produced for Princeton all season. Another freshman, midfielder Katie Kinzer, scored her third goal of the season off a rebound at the end of the first half.

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Paige, who scored the final two goals of the game, dominated the contest's second half. Her first goal of the half was assisted by her sister, and sophomore midfielder Nicole Ng was credited with the assist on the final goal of the game.

The convincing win against Rutgers and the huge victory over Penn gave the Tigers a good deal of confidence going into the NCAA tournament, which starts next week. The tournament selections and schedule will be announced this evening.

To be sure, Princeton will want to be able to count on more production from the dynamic duo of the Schmidt sisters. Based on the outstanding production they have shown thus far, there is every reason to believe that the chemistry will continue well into the postseason.