After its first loss of the season came in devastating fashion — a 3-2 double-overtime loss to No. 5 UConn last Sunday — the field hockey team will certainly be hungry for a win this weekend. No. 15 Princeton (3-1) will take on Dartmouth (0-3) in its Ivy League debut on Saturday at Class of 1952 Stadium.The Tigers were edged by the narrowest of margins in their game with the Huskies. Despite having leads of 1-0 and 2-1, Princeton could not hold on and lost in the second overtime on veteran forward Lauren Aird’s first goal of the long match.Though the Tigers fell to UConn, they put up quite an impressive performance against Lehigh last Wednesday, emerging victorious by a score of 11-1. For her efforts in the strong offensive outing, freshman attack Kathleen Sharkey was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after racking up a hat trick and one assist.Despite its impressive record, Princeton is constantly striving to improve on its past performances.“We learned a lot about our weaknesses as a team and what we need to work on to improve [in the loss to UConn],” Sharkey said. “In practice this week, we are competing at a high tempo and looking to bring an improved team to our game against Dartmouth.”Aside from the loss against UConn, the Tigers have looked particularly strong early on in the season. One reason for the Orange and Black’s early season success has been the outstanding play by its tandem of goalkeepers. Sophomore Jennifer King has a .909 save percentage, and junior Cynthia Wray has also been effective in the net. Both netminders looked strong in the win against Lehigh.So far this season, the Tigers have done a great job of spreading the wealth when it comes to scoring points. Thirteen different players have contributed with goals and assists. This ability to get the ball to different players has led to a balanced scoring attack that can be very hard to stop, as evidenced in the game against Lehigh.While Princeton has been firing on all cylinders, the Big Green has had trouble on the offensive end so far this season. In its three games against UMass, Northeastern and Providence, Dartmouth has yet to put the ball in the back of the net. The Big Green will certainly be determined to score its first points of the season when it visits Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday.A potential offensive threat, Dartmouth’s offensive leader from last season, is midfielder Ashley Hines. Starting all 17 of the Big Green’s games last season, Hines racked up seven goals and two assists, both career highs for her. Last season, the Tigers defeated the Big Green, 4-1. In that game, junior attack Christina Bortz scored twice. Hines was the only Dartmouth player to score in the matchup. Minding the net for the Big Green will most likely be newcomer Meagan Vakiener, who has a 3.14 goals-against average heading into the matchup against Princeton. Vakiener is one of 13 underclassmen on an 18-player roster, making Dartmouth an extremely young and perhaps inexperienced team. If the Tigers can keep up their scoring barrage, Vakiener will certainly have her hands full.Princeton is known for its annual success against its Ancient Eight foes. The Tigers have won 16 Ivy League championships and three straight under the leadership of head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn. This weekend’s matchup against Dartmouth might just jumpstart another successful Ivy League title run. And after the loss to UConn, you can expect Princeton to come charging out of the gates and ready to win.That is certainly how Sharkey feels about her team’s revitalized attitude regarding this weekend’s matchup.“The team feels that in order to reach our goal of a national championship, we need to approach each game with the same intensity and excitement,” Sharkey said. “The Ivy League games are very important for winning the conference, and we are all aware of that, but we need to play good Princeton field hockey in each game.”
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