Tigers close out season unbeaten in Ivy League

With just two minutes remaining in overtime and the score knotted at one apiece against Penn, junior midfielder Paige Schmidt ensured that the field hockey team ended its regular season with an exclamation point. Controlling the ball at the top of the key, Schmidt floated a backhanded shot into the back of the net to end the game.

Princeton (11-6 overall, 7-0 Ivy League), which clinched its 12th Ivy League title in 14 seasons with a victory over rival Harvard two weeks ago, achieved another feat with the 2-1 win over Penn (9-8, 4-3) last Friday night. Under the lights at Class of 1952 Stadium, the Tigers closed out their eighth perfect season in the last 10 against Ivy opponents.

The game remained scoreless through the entirety of the first half. With 12 minutes, 52 seconds left in the game, the Tigers first drew blood. Sophomore defender Holly McGarvie received a clean pass from sophomore midfielder Sarah Reinprecht at the top of the circle. McGarvie then blasted a shot past Quaker goalkeeper Liz Schlossberg to put Princeton ahead, 1-0. The goal was McGarvie's team-leading ninth of the season.

Sitting on a 1-0 lead with time winding down, it looked as if the Tigers would wrap up their regular season with a win in regulation. With just seven seconds left, however, Penn midfielder Nicole Black changed that situation. Receiving a pass from fellow midfielder Nicole Levi, Black shot the ball past Princeton senior goalkeeper Allison Nemeth and into the net, knotting the game at one.

Early in the overtime period, Nemeth had a couple of crucial saves to keep her team and the game alive. She ended her final non-tournament game in a Tiger uniform with three total saves. Along with fellow senior goalkeeper Juliana Simon, Nemeth was recognized before the game at Senior Night in front of a supportive home crowd.

Schmidt had a great scoring opportunity with four minutes gone in the overtime period, but she could not capitalize. She persisted and later in the period found the back of the net.

Before the exciting triumph over the Quakers, Princeton won another game at home, as it downed Rutgers (6-12, 1-5 Big East) by a score of 3-0 on Oct. 29.

While Schmidt made the difference in the victory over Penn, the shutout win over the Scarlet Knights two Sundays ago proved to be an all-around team effort, with goals being scored by a trio of sophomores. With 27:49 gone in the first half, McGarvie got the Orange and Black on the board first. Receiving a pass from Schmidt, she rocketed a shot into the net to put Princeton ahead, 1-0.

With merely a minute gone in the second half, Reinprecht capitalized on a penalty stroke that trickled past Rutgers goalkeeper Rosalyn Wentko, increasing the Tigers' lead to two. Four minutes later, sophomore attack Kristin Schwab added an insurance goal to make the score 3-0. The goal, which was Schwab's third of the season, was assisted by junior midfielder Nicole Ng.

Nemeth and Simon, combined for Princeton's fourth shutout of the season.

The two wins over the Scarlet Knights and Quakers were just icing on the cake, as the Tigers had already earned their NCAA tournament bid by capturing the Ivy title.

"We finished our season with crucial wins," Reinprecht said. "We beat American, which was huge because they're a top 20 ranked team, and our victories over Rutgers and Penn were confidence builders. We set goals in the beginning of the season for the tournament, and we're looking [forward] to improving on last year's performance when we lost to Duke in overtime."

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Princeton will find out its first round opponent and game site on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., when the tournament brackets are announced in a selection show on College Sports Television.