Field hockey: Streak to six after two wins

Princeton — who has yet to lose to Columbia in 12 meetings — fell behind midway through the first half, as junior goalkeeper Cynthia Wray was unable to handle a deflected shot from Lions’ midfielder Maggie O’Connor. Senior midfielder Kraftin Schreyer, whose three goals led the Tigers this weekend, drew the score even on a penalty corner. She then put the Orange and Black ahead for good with just seconds left in the first half, finding the net off a rebound.

Despite 15 penalty corners and 22 shots, Princeton struggled to find the back of the cage against Columbia. The Tigers’ third goal came when junior midfielder Kaitlin Donovan pounced on a rebound off a Schreyer corner and placed the ball past Lions goalkeeper Gena Miller. Columbia’s pressure late in the game would not be enough, as the Lions generated only one more goal with just more than two minutes, 30 seconds left.

“The weekend was a typical midseason weekend,” senior defender and co-captain Holly McGarvie said. “We were challenged this weekend. With Columbia, you have an Ivy League team coming out really strong. They have a lot of emotion, and at times we played into that. But in the end, we were tough enough, and we were good enough to come away with the win.”

The Tigers lost three starters for Sunday’s showdown to the Junior Pan-American games. Freshman attack Kathleen Sharkey, freshman midfielder Katie Reinprecht and junior defender Kaitlyn Perrelle travelled to Mexico City to represent the United States this week.

Princeton, however, would not allow their departures to stand in the way of the team’s quest for its sixth-consecutive win. The Tigers dominated the first half, generating 11 shots and five penalty corners in the first 20 minutes. Despite the quantity of high-caliber opportunities, the Tigers were shut down by Friars goalkeeper Rachel Chamberlain.

“Their goalie played a great game,” senior midfielder Sarah Reinprecht said. “She was making great saves on initial balls. Coming in, we knew we would have to get her moving a little bit and pass around her.”

Momentum shifted as the first half ticked away. Providence had six penalty corner opportunities in the final 15 minutes before halftime. Notably, the Tigers withstood four corners over a five-minute span.

Just more than two-and-a-half minutes after halftime, Schreyer sent the ball on net off a penalty corner insert from junior attack Tina Bortz. Chamberlain dove for the ball, blocking it back into the center. Sarah Reinprecht gathered the rebound and blasted the ball back at Chamberlain, who knocked the shot aside. McGarvie hustled to the loose ball and backhanded a reverse shot over the outstretched goalie.

With a lead secured, the Tigers began to play a more defensive game. Minutes later, however, Sarah Reinprecht sent the ball up into Princeton’s attacking 30. McGarvie shot the ball on net but was denied by Chamberlain. Senior attack Katie Kinzer drew a penalty corner and then tallied an assist as Schreyer drove the ball between Chamberlain’s legs. Up two, the Tigers sat on their lead and secured the shutout.

“Sarah was fantastic,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “[Senior midfielder and co-captain Candice] Arner was tremendous. That whole back line, [senior midfielder] Nicole Ng and Kraftin Schreyer just played tremendous team defense to come into this game with three starters not here and to put on that kind of performance against a very quality team in Providence.”

Both games were struggles for Princeton, which has proven its mettle with two victories.

“Every team has a game like we did on Friday when we were just not clicking,” Arner said. “I think the fact that we could come back today and have a convincing win against a really good team proves that our team is coming together.”