Though history was against the Tigers, the field hockey team pulled out an impressive 3-2 win at No. 13 Penn State on Wednesday. Princeton is 3-22 all-time and 0-10 visiting the Nittany Lions, so the No. 15 Tigers were the underdogs going into the match. Princeton (5-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) started slowly as Penn State (4-4) jumped out to an early first-half lead. A few quick scores and solid defense throughout the second half were enough to hold off the Nittany Lions and clinch the team’s first victory in Happy Valley.
Penn State’s Daneen Zug opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a penalty corner. Senior attack Katie Kinzer evened things up at a goal apiece eight minutes later on an assist from senior defender Holly McGarvie. This goal gave way to two more in rapid succession, one unassisted from freshman midfielder Katie Reinprecht and the other from freshman attack Kathleen Sharkey assisted by Reinprecht, giving the Tigers a comfortable 3-1 lead heading into the half.
Reinprecht currently leads the team in points with 12, four of which are goals. Sharkey is right behind her with 11, and she leads the team with five goals.
“Katie’s goal was the moment that set the tone for the team,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “Katie is the kind of player that attracts a lot of attention. She plays well at speed and under pressure. She is very difficult to defend.”
Defense was the theme of the second half for Princeton. The Tigers’ shot count went from 14 in the first half to only six in the second, but they still outshot the Nittany Lions 20-13 for the match. Princeton did, however, give Penn State many chances to score, as it lost the penalty corner battle, 12-7. As strong defense is a mainstay of Princeton field hockey, being outcornered is not characteristic of the Tigers. Zug scored her second of the match for the Nittany Lions on another penalty corner, though it would not be enough in the end.
“Once we got our act together, our defense was smothering,” Holmes-Winn said. “We gave up too many penalty corners. That was concerning and certainly something we will be addressing. It was atypical for us.”
This win was a big one for the Tigers in terms of setting the tone for the rest of the season. Their only loss this season came at No. 5 UConn, so Princeton had yet to prove itself in a big-game situation.
“We need to make a case for ourselves for an at-large bid [to the NCAA tournament],” Holmes-Winn said. “We have to have top-20 wins. This is a game we needed to win.”
And on the backs of a trio of goals by a trio of Katies, the Tigers met that need.
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