No. 19: Kirsty Hale '99

Virtually every great sports team over the years has had a goto guy, a player who would invariably get the ball in crunch time. Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Joe Montana were all relied upon for their strong play while leading their respective teams to success. From 1996-1998, Kirsty Hale '99 was the field hockey team's goto gal.

For Hale, the Ivy League Player of the Year in 1998, numbers tell much of the story. A quick glance at the Princeton record book shows her name at the top of nearly every offensive category.

Hale is the Tigers' all-time leader in career points (198), assists (56) and goals (71). Her 198 career points are 25 more than the next-closest Tiger, while her assist count is 22 ahead of the next highest. Hale also remains Princeton's all-time single-season leader in assists (25) and points (73).

The accomplished attack wasted no time making her impact felt. She was honored as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in her first year with the team. In just her second year wearing the Orange and Black, Hale set the program's single-season scoring record with 24 goals, the only one of her records that has since been eclipsed.

Hale was named first-team All-Ivy three times during her four years with the team, one of only a number of players to have done so. She also was recognized at the national level, being named a first-team All-American her senior year, after being named to the second team as a junior.

When discussing Hale, however, numbers and accolades don't tell the full story. Despite her prodigous scoring, Hale was a famously unselfish player whose assists records far outpace her scoring marks. Going into her senior season, Amy MacFarlane '97 — Hale's former teammate — held the Tigers' career scoring record. Hale tried her best to keep away from the record, until head coach Beth Bozman told her, "Kirsty, if you don't score goals this season so you don't break Amy's record, it's going to be a long season," as reported in the Daily Princetonian in November 1998.

Despite her astonishing numbers, individual accolades were by no means a focus for the Virginia Beach, Va., native.

"She is not about statistics ... it's always been a struggle for us to make her score more when she would rather give the ball up for an assist. She's the consummate team player," Bozman said.

If team success was Hale's aim, she wasn't far from the mark. In her four years with the team, the Tigers reached the NCAA tournament each season. The squad made it to the national semifinals in Hale's junior year, and twice reached the NCAA championship game — during her sophomore and senior years. Sadly for Hale and her teammates, though, they lost in both title game appearances, falling to North Carolina in 1996 and Old Dominion in 1998.

In both title game years, Hale was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.

In her time with the Tigers, Hale's selflessness was as much a trademark to her play as the black bandana she always wore on the turf or the brilliant manner in which she played the game. Though her teams may never have been crowned national chapmions, they came as close as one possibly could while Hale established herself as a Princeton athletic great.