Field Hockey: Princeton rally falls short in NCAA semifinal

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- There’s no question that the field hockey team left it all out on the field today, but in the end, Maryland’s high-powered offense proved to be the difference. In a semifinal matchup played at Wake Forest, fourth-seeded Princeton (16-3 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) lost by a 7-5 margin to the top-seeded Terrapins (23-0), ending the Tigers’ run at an NCAA title.

The combined total of 12 goals sets a new record for an NCAA semifinal game. Both teams played at an extremely fast pace throughout, but Maryland got the last word against a Princeton squad that played with heart and intensity.

Going into the second half, facing a 3-1 deficit, Princeton made a key adjustment against the Terrapins, the defending national champions.

“We needed to get better pressure on the ball since their ball speed is difficult to catch up with at times,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “We had to adjust our press at halftime and protect our middle. We were able to do that, and that was the key difference in the second half. We just kind of ran out of gas there at the end.”

Sophomore midfielder Katie Reinprecht, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, had to contend all game with Maryland forward Katie O’Donnell, who scored three goals and had three assists.

“She’s a great player,” Reinprecht said of O’Donnell. “Whenever I find myself against another team’s best players, it is always a good matchup. She played amazing today, and I have to give a lot of credit to her.”

After the Terrapins took a 4-1 lead early in the second half, the Tigers turned up their offense, fighting back to knot the game at four with 17 minutes, 28 seconds left in the second half.

“When you have a three-goal span, you have a tendency to settle,” Maryland head coach Missy Meharg said. “They were not going to be embarrassed, and there was no way they were going to get blown out.”

The Tigers are a young team, led by a core of rising juniors who will certainly have their sights set on another Final Four appearance next year.

“We will be able to build on this as a program,” Holmes-Winn said. “Once you get a taste of this, it’s hard not to go back. We will be fighting and clawing to keep getting better.”

Maryland's win sets up a battle for the NCAA championship between the two most recent champions. Third-seeded UNC, the victor in 2007, advanced to the finals after holding off second-seeded Virginia, 3-2, earlier today.

More to come in Monday's 'Prince.'