One week after sending home a total of 14 goals in back-to-back victories, the field hockey team's sticks were silenced Saturday afternoon as No. 10 UConn (11-2 overall) shut out Princeton 2-0.
The Tigers (6-4, 3-0 Ivy League) quickly found themselves in a hole when the Huskies opened up the scoring just two and a half minutes into the game. Lizzy Peijs took a loose ball off a penalty corner and slipped a shot into the Princeton net for her team-leading 12th goal of the season.
Faced with a one-goal deficit almost from the opening whistle, the Tigers were then forced to fight an uphill battle in which they would ultimately come up short. The Orange and Black couldn't seem to get anything going offensively, generating only six shots to UConn's 19.
"Attacking-wise, we weren't really gelling," junior midfielder Nicole Ng said. "We couldn't connect our passes to attack very well."
"We didn't always get a shot off every time we could have," added freshman attack Tina Bortz, who had a team-high two shots. We just have to be a bit quicker executing."
The Huskies helped their cause by staying largely penalty-free, allowing only one penalty corner opportunity.
"We didn't draw very many corners, so that limited our scoring opportunities," Bortz said.
UConn, meanwhile, wasn't having much luck on the offensive end either, despite its solid, cohesive attack.
"They worked really well as a team," Ng said. "Their passing was really crisp."
"They were really aggressive and quick to move the ball, which made some of the transitions from offense to defense kind of difficult to defend against," Bortz added.
Neither team would score again for almost 60 minutes as both goalies kicked out every shot the oncoming attackers dared throw at them. UConn netminder Briana Koza turned aside all three shots she faced while senior goaltender Allison Nemeth made eight saves of her own to keep Princeton within striking distance.
"Ali did a really excellent job in the cage on Saturday," sophomore midfielder Kraftin Schreyer said. "She made some really key saves that kept us in the game."
The scoring drought was finally broken by the Huskies with just under 10 minutes to play when Lauren Aird cut to receive a pass at the top of the circle and ripped a long shot that sailed past Nemeth, padding the Connecticut lead to two but still not quite putting the game out of reach. In the end, however, the Huskies were able to hang on for the victory.
"I think we were definitely able to beat UConn, we just didn't capitalize on all the opportunities we wanted to," Bortz said.
"It was a fast-paced, well-fought game. We were all hustling and working hard — we just couldn't put the ball away."
No time to recover
This setback is a tough loss to swallow for Princeton, whose schedule won't get any easier this week. The Tigers face top-ranked Maryland (12-1) at home this evening.
As Princeton learned Saturday, jumping to an early lead can significantly improve a team's chances of winning, and that's exactly what it hopes to do in what could be its toughest match of the season.
"We need to score right away and really dictate the tempo of the game from the beginning," Bortz said.
Schreyer noted that the Tigers' ability to work together as a team for the full 70 minutes will be the most important factor in Tuesday's game.
"As long as we keep the communication going and play in our system as a cohesive unit, we will be able to play with Maryland for the entire game."
Despite the upcoming challenge, Ng is confident in the team's ability to bounce back from the loss and establish itself among the NCAA's elite.
"I feel like we're definitely ready as a team to be a top-10 team."
Read More
Preview: Football names captains and looks ahead to their first game
Lily PampolinaPrinceton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
Princeton football kicks off their season Saturday at noon at home against University of San Diego. The team hopes to get back on track after a disappointing season last year.
By the Numbers: Goals and medals for the Tigers’ start to the fall
Harrison BlankThis week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
This week in By the Numbers, women’s cross country took first in their first two meets, led by sophomore Meg Madison. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over three-fifths of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
Late goals lift men’s soccer past University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2–0
Harrison Blank and Matthew YiMen’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.
Men’s soccer overcame a slow start to beat the Minutemen.