Tigers take two in Rhode Island tour

The field hockey team continued its streak of dominance this weekend on a road trip to Rhode Island. After shutting out Brown 5-0 on Saturday, Princeton visited Providence on Sunday and held on for a 2-1 win. The victories extended the Tigers' current win streak to four games.

There were plenty of reasons for the Tigers (8-4 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) to be psyched about this past weekend's triumphs. Beating the Bears (0-11, 0-4) helped Princeton close in on another Ivy League regular season title, while the win against Providence (10-6) demonstrated that the Tigers could handle an opponent that had already beaten several ranked foes. The two wins also proved that the Tigers could bring the intensity they showed earlier in the season against Connecticut to the field twice in the same weekend. And, considering the four-hour bus trip, winning made the ride home much easier.

"People are singing and dancing, and there's no one crying in the back, so it's definitely more fun to ride home after a win," senior co-captain and midfielder Paige Schmidt said.

Five players contributed goals this weekend, with Schmidt and junior attack Kate Kinzer scoring two apiece. Most of the scoring occurred during Saturday's match against the Bears, who were quickly outpaced by the Tigers' explosive offense.

Junior midfielder Candice Arner put Princeton up 1-0 five minutes, four seconds into the contest, lofting a shot into Brown's goal. The Tigers got more offensive support just a minute later when sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Donovan scored on a breakaway.

Two goals were not enough for one half, however, as Arner and sophomore attack Tina Bortz felt the need to make their marks before the break. Arner scored again on a long shot from the left 15:45 into the game, and Bortz converted a pass from Kinzer to score from the same side five minutes later. The final goal came from Kinzer early in the second half, when she scored off a rebounded shot by Arner.

The Providence game the next day proved less of a free for all. It took only two solid shots by Schmidt to seal the victory for Princeton.

Schmidt's first goal came from a textbook penalty corner play 11:11 into the game, which involved teammates Bortz and Arner. Schmidt scored again early in the second half off a pass from junior attack Kristen Schwab. The Friars answered within two minutes with a goal from midfielder Julie Ruggieri. The Tiger squad had to stay focused through the remaining 30 minutes to take home the win.

The box scores reveal the intensity of Princeton's play, as the Tigers out-shot and out-cornered both teams, while the defense only needed sophomore goalkeeper Cynthia Wray to step in eight times during the weekend to make a save.

Head coach Kristin Holmes-Winn was proud of her team's display of stamina, both mental and physical.

"Those back-to-back victories are a testament to our level of fitness and the hard work we do in practice," she said.

Despite the barrage of goals, Homes-Winn continued to emphasize the importance that teamwork played in creating those critical opportunities.

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"Usually, I never know who scores," she said. "These wins have been the result of absolute team efforts."

Her players agree. Looking back on her four seasons playing for the Tigers, Schmidt confesses that this season's team is probably the most cohesive squad she has seen. That said, she has high expectations for the team.

"Our top priority is to win the Ivy League — without that, there's no postseason," she said. "But ever since the first day of preseason, I've known that we can go to the Final Four. We made it to the Elite Eight last year, and with these girls I think we can go even further."