No. 5 Huskies eke out win in double overtime

The No. 17 Tigers (3-1) also knew that they could hold their own with the best teams in the country, and they put on quite a show proving that. They couldn’t quite topple the titan two years in a row, however, as the Tigers fell to the Huskies 3-2 in double overtime.

Princeton jumped to an early lead on the strength of junior attack Tina Bortz’ goal. Bortz was set up by freshman midfielder Katie Reinprecht, who notched the assist in the 24th minute. Reinprecht slotted a pass through to the center of the circle to a waiting Bortz, who ripped a shot past the UConn goalie.

The Tigers clung to the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first half. Ten minutes into the second, however, UConn knotted up the score. Princeton wasted little time in answering, as freshman attack Kathleen Sharkey found the net on one of the Tigers’ seven penalty corners. Try as it might, though, Princeton could not hold the lead. UConn’s Lindsay Leck scored the equalizer with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.

Heading into overtime, the Tigers continued to move the ball well. Princeton recorded five shots to UConn’s zero and generated three penalty corners to just a single Huskie chance in the first overtime. No Orange and Black jersey could find the net, however, and it took just one Connecticut shot as the game entered its second overtime to make the difference.

Despite the outcome, the Tigers played extremely good field hockey. Princeton both outshot UConn, 18-14, and generated seven penalty corners to the Huskies’ five.

“We followed our game plan, and [the girls] did everything we could ask of them,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “All of our strikers did a great job trusting their backs.”

Indeed, chemistry and depth are major strengths of this Princeton team. With one of the largest teams in the history of the field hockey program at 26 players, the Tigers’ freshmen are making a significant difference. Beyond Sharkey’s goal, Reinprecht’s presence was felt throughout the game as she provided several excellent scoring opportunities for her teammates.

“Katie Reinprecht was phenomenal today,” Holmes-Winn noted. “She distributed the ball very, very well.”

Also notable was the play of junior goalkeeper Cynthia Wray down the stretch. Despite a lackluster ratio of three goals allowed to just six saves, Wray fended off six UConn shots in the closing minutes, keeping the Tigers in the game when momentum had shifted to benefit the Huskies.

The loss for Princeton is particularly frustrating, given the quantity of shots and overtime penalty corners. This Tiger squad has spent countless hours developing corner plays and working to capitalize on those opportunities. There is little doubt, however, that come the NCAA tournament, the Tigers will be ready to fight.

“UConn is a great team and deserves that No. 5 ranking,” Holmes-Winn said. “That we can compete with them the way we did today was tremendous. But we were the better team today, and it’s frustrating not to come away with a win.”

After sweeping through their early road games, defeating Richmond, William & Mary and Lehigh, the Tigers will certainly be toughened by this loss as they prepare for the beginning of the Ivy season.

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“We are more focused than ever, and this game definitely gave us confidence going into our regular conference schedule,” Bortz said. “It was pretty rough, definitely a heartbreaker to have to go to double overtime and not come away with the win.”