The regular season ended Friday on Senior Night, as No. 11 Princeton (15-2 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) finished a perfect Ancient Eight season against Penn (6-11, 4-3). The convincing 5-0 victory sealed the Tigers’ 14th Ivy League title in the last 15 years and their 12th undefeated Ivy League season. The Tigers’ win over Cornell on Nov. 1 clinched a share of the title, but the win over Penn secured sole ownership of the Ivy crown. Senior defender and tri-captain Holly McGarvie and senior midfielder Sarah Reinprecht both had goals in their final regular season games, with Reinprecht’s being her first of the season.
Princeton entered the match having already clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title with its 4-0 shutout against Cornell. Penn came in riding a four-game win streak in a season that has been plagued by inconsistency. Princeton dominated the two squads’ recent matchups, beating the Quakers in each of the last three seasons.
The Tigers quickly gained control of the match and never looked back. Freshman attack Kathleen Sharkey staked Princeton to an early 1-0 lead with a goal near the top of the circle with only two minutes, 38 seconds elapsed in the game. This was her team-leading 12th goal of the season.
Not far behind was McGarvie, who scored in the eighth minute on a penalty corner, tying Sharkey’s 12-goal mark for most on the team. Reinprecht had her fifth assist of the season on the goal.
Again, not much time elapsed before the Tigers scored for a third time. This time, Sarah Reinprecht found the back of the net for the first time this season on another penalty corner, assisted by her sister, freshman midfielder Katie Reinprecht.
Princeton kept up the relentless pace with its fourth goal coming in the 17th minute. Junior attack Lauren Capps matched Reinprecht with her first goal of the season as she joined the scoring frenzy. It took about half a period for Princeton to essentially put the game out of reach for Penn.
“I think we had strong counterattack defense,” McGarvie said. “Coming out down in the first three minutes is hard to bounce back from. They went into halftime trying to make changes, but we stayed strong through the whole 70 minutes. They just did not take advantage of their opportunities.”
Katie Reinprecht’s goal in the second period only iced the 5-0 victory. This goal, along with her earlier assist, added to her team-high 35 points this season.
Though it was Senior Night and the team had just finished dominating all Ivy League competition, the Tigers have to refocus quickly for their playoff game. Princeton faces Stanford, who defeated California to make it into the playoff, at home Tuesday for an NCAA tournament bid.
“We celebrated for 20 minutes and then waited for Saturday’s outcome,” Holmes-Winn said. “We need to refine the things we do well and bring that to the game on Tuesday.”
McGarvie echoed her coach’s sentiments.
“Stanford is a very emotional team. They are coming in with a lot of motivation,” McGarvie said. “We will be focusing on taking advantage of every single opportunity we get and knowing when to take their good players out of the game. We have to remember the details.”
The Tigers have had a no-nonsense attitude throughout the season. In Ivy League play, they posted four shutouts and won every game by multiple goals except a 3-2 win over Columbia.
“Their goal going in was to win all the league games,” Holmes-Winn said. “To make a serious playoff run, it is a must. What was most impressive was almost every game we played in the league was convincing. They just were not satisfied. It was about playing their best hockey. They don’t let up.”
As for Stanford, Holmes-Winn remains confident in her team’s mindset.
“We respect Stanford,” Holmes-Winn said. “They have three very strong players, and we need to play in a way to keep it out of their hands. In these games, there is a lot of emotion and desperation. We need to neutralize that frenetic pace and just play our game.”
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