Field Hockey: No. 1 Terps inch past Princeton

Last night in College Park, Md., the field hockey team almost took down a titan. But, as the saying goes, “almost” doesn’t count. No. 5 Princeton (9-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) lost in devastating fashion, dropping a 3-2 overtime game to top-ranked Maryland (13-0).

Tied at two in overtime, Terrapin forward Nicole Muracco received a pass from forward Katie O’Donnell. She quickly shot the ball, which sailed past junior goaltender Jennifer King and ended the game in the 78th minute. The game-winner was Muracco’s 18th goal of the season.

Princeton got on the board first in this contest. With merely three minutes gone in the first half, sophomore striker Kathleen Sharkey maneuvered around Terrapin goalkeeper Alicia Grater, who came way out from the goal to confront Sharkey for the ball and was burned for it. Sharkey now has a team-leading 12 goals on the season.

It didn’t take long for Maryland to respond with a goal of its own. Seven minutes later, midfielder Megan Frazer capitalized on a penalty corner opportunity.

Later in the first half, Princeton responded with a go-ahead goal. During the 18th minute of play, freshman midfielder Julia Reinprecht snuck one past Grater for her seventh goal of the season, giving Princeton a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.

But the Terrapins would not give up. With seven minutes gone in the second half, O’Donnell got the better of King and tied the game at two. The two teams remained in a deadlock as regulation time ran out before Muracco, who had three shots overall in the matchup, netted her game-winning goal in overtime.

Overall, the Terrapins had 11 penalty corners while the Tigers only had three. This proved to be the difference in the game, as Maryland generated more opportunities on offense. The Terrapins also outshot Princeton, 20-15. Freshman striker Michelle Cesan led Princeton’s offensive effort with four shots, including Princeton’s two attempts in the overtime periods.

Considering the circumstances, the Tigers’ defense played well against the Terrapins: Princeton held a high-octane offense that averages 5.33 goals per contest to three scores. In fact, King had a career-high 11 saves in the matchup, while Grater had seven.

Also, last night’s matchup was the first all season in which undefeated Maryland bested an opponent by a one-goal margin. All the other Terrapin victories this season have been by at least two goals.

Though Princeton lost to Maryland last night, the team can take consolation in the fact that it has beaten other ranked teams this season, which should give the Tigers some confidence if they make the NCAA tournament.

Princeton started the season with two overtime victories against highly ranked opponents, defeating then-No. 18 Ohio State, 5-4, on Sept. 5 and dismissing then-No. 3 Syracuse, 3-2, the following day. The Tigers also defeated No. 5 Connecticut by a 3-1 margin over this past weekend. Last night, however, Princeton could not pull out the victory.

The Orange and Black will have a few days of rest before it is back in action. On Sunday, Princeton takes on American University on the road in Washington, D.C.