The 2009 field hockey team was young, but its stellar season proved that it was anything but inexperienced.
The Tigers (16-3 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) won their first two postseason games against Stanford and Syracuse to advance to the NCAA semifinals, where they fell to Maryland, 7-5. Head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn described the loss as a battle from “end line to end line” that had “spectators commenting it was one of the most exciting games they had ever seen.”
Only eight of Princeton’s 21 players were upperclassmen, and throughout the season underclassmen represented 64 percent of the starting lineup on average. With its first trip to the Final Four in eight years — the fifth in the program’s history — under its belt, Princeton is well-positioned for next year.
“The nice thing now is that the team is so young, and we have so many underclassmen who have been exposed to the Final Four and this environment,” senior striker and co-captain Christina Bortz said. “It will be so instrumental going forward. This is definitely a team that is going to the Final Four again.”
Last spring, five Tigers were named to the under-21 national team — senior back Kaitlyn Perrelle, sophomore midfielder and co-captain Katie Reinprecht, sophomore striker Kathleen Sharkey, freshman striker Michelle Cesan and freshman midfielder Julia Reinprecht. In August, the Reinprecht sisters represented the United States in the Junior World Cup.
Over the course of the season, the team amassed numerous accolades. Nine players earned All-Ivy recognition. The u-21 quintet was named to the first-team All-Ivy. Bortz, junior goalkeeper Jennifer King and sophomore midfielder Alyssa Pyros earned second-team All-Ivy honors, and junior back Alexandra Douwes earned honorable mention. Katie Reinprecht earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors for the second year running, while Julia Reinprecht was named Rookie of the Year. Both awards were unanimous.
Seven Tigers earned spots on the 2009 Longstreth/NFHCA All-Region team for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Sharkey, Cesan and the Reinprecht sisters received first-team All-Region honors, while Perrelle, King and Pyros were named to the second team.
Four players earned All-Star spots. Perrelle and Bortz were selected to play in the NFHCA Senior All-Star Game. The Reinprecht sisters were named to the ECAC all-Star team and the NCAA all-tournament team.
Four Tigers earned All-America honors. Katie Reinprecht and Sharkey made the first-team All-America while Julia Reinprecht and Cesan made the second and third teams, respectively. These four also led the team in points: Sharkey earned 51, Katie Reinprecht had 47, Cesan garnered 39 and Julia Reinprecht tallied 26.
The girls in this fearsome All-America foursome are “way beyond their years in terms of skill development,” Bortz said. “One of the most incredible things though about their playing style is how effortless they make it look. They will have ridiculously amazing plays, and it looks as if they are just gliding through it. What also impresses me is how humble the four of them are. Their skills speak for them — so they never have to ... They definitely raise the level of play at practice — and that helps motivate everyone to play harder and to compete with them.”
While crowds have enjoyed two years of Katie Reinprecht and Sharkey’s prowess on the field, this year was the first year fans had the chance to marvel at Cesan and Julia Reinprecht’s talents. Cesan’s ability to dribble through traffic one-handed — effortlessly maneuvering the ball over and around defenders with just the left hand on the top of her stick — is unparalleled. Julia Reinprecht’s talent in the fly position defending corners is also unmatched. Reinprecht blocked the first shot on opponents’ penalty-corner opportunities all season long, leaving opponents unable to capitalize on any advantage.
Katie Reinprecht has been named one of four nominees for the 2009 Honda Sports Award for field hockey. She is the seventh Tiger to be nominated for this award, and the first Princeton nominee in seven years. Fellow nominees include Maryland senior Katie O’Donnell, who had nine points in the Terps’ semifinal victory over the Tigers, but tallied no points in their loss to UNC in the finals. In the past six years, the winner of the Honda Award has also won the national championship. But none of the nominees are from UNC, so O’Donnell may be the player to beat.
One thing is for sure: None of this recognition is going to the team’s head. Holmes-Winn lauded the Tigers’ “humility that underpins their disciplined lifestyle. It’s really amazing to be around.”
If Princeton is distinguished by being a young, humble and driven team, then it also sets itself apart by its love of the game.
“These guys play with a ton of joy, and they love each other, and they have a lot of respect for the game. It’s awesome,” Holmes-Winn said after their quarterfinal win.
Team unity and love for the game go hand in hand. “The extended postseason really bonded the team,” Katie Reinprecht said. “We are now a very tight-knit group, excited to get back together next year and try and win a national championship … We were so close to achieving our ultimate goal this year, and I think we have a good grasp of what we need to do next year in order to actually accomplish it.”
In 1996, Princeton became the first Ivy League field hockey team to play in a national championship game. Under the leadership of coach Holmes-Winn, the Tigers are hungry to make it to the finals again.
“To be one of the last four teams standing in Division I is such an incredible feeling,” Bortz said. “It shows how much our program has improved in the four years I’ve been here and speaks wonders about our coaches insofar as their coaching ability.”
“The coaches have done an excellent job of recruiting over the last few years,” Katie Reinprecht said. “They have recruited girls that all have the same willingness to do whatever it takes to win and become the best team in the nation. Everyone on the team is so selfless, and I honestly believe that’s why we have been so successful.”
The next step for the Tigers is their offseason. “A lot of what happens August to November has to do with what they do in the winter, spring and summer,” Holmes-Winn said after the semis. The offseason is “when you build your foundation, when you develop your leadership.” She added that “the hard part isn’t getting to the top, it’s sustaining it.”
As the offseason starts, Princeton is ready to put in the hard work it takes to maintain their success.
“We know we have the talent to make it to the Final Four again, but the hard work in the offseason is going to be just as crucial,” Katie Reinprecht said.
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