Field Hockey: Wake Forest looms in 1st round of NCAA tournament

Over the past week, Princeton closed out a tight 3-2 victory over Cornell on Oct. 30 and rolled Penn 10-0 as it secured its third straight undefeated Ivy League season and sixth straight championship. The Tigers’ four losses have all come to ranked opponents and NCAA tournament teams, with three of them coming on the road. After earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as undefeated Ancient Eight champions, the Tigers hope to carry their momentum into Saturday against the Demon Deacons. They have a tough road ahead of them to match or improve upon their Final Four run from last year.

The individual accolades poured in this week for Princeton. Junior striker Kathleen Sharkey, junior midfielder Katie Reinprecht, sophomore striker Michelle Cesan and sophomore midfielder Julia Reinprecht were all named first team All-Ivy League, while freshman back Amanda Bird earned a place on the second team. Senior back and co-captain Alexandra Douwes, junior midfielders Erin Jennings and Alyssa Pyros, and sophomore back Amy Donovan were honorable mention All-Ivy League. In addition to her spot on the first team, Sharkey was also named Ivy League Player of the Year.

Sharkey, Katie Reinprecht, Julia Reinprecht and Cesan lead Princeton on offense. Sharkey leads the nation in goals, with 31, which is also a new team record for the Tigers. Cesan and Katie Reinprecht have 12 and 11 goals, respectively. Julia Reinprecht leads the team in assists, with 12, while Douwes has 10. The high-flying offense ranks second in the nation in goals per game, points per game and scoring average; fourth in the nation in penalty corners per game; and fifth in the nation in assists per game.

The Tigers hope to have Katie Reinprecht and Pyros back in time for Saturday, as they have missed the last few games with injuries. Princeton has played well through injuries, but it will definitely miss its All-Ivy League standouts.

Douwes, Bird and Donovan lead Princeton’s layered defense that ranks seventh in the nation in shutouts per game and ninth in the nation in average goals allowed. Freshman goalkeeper Christina Maida, the starter, and senior goalkeeper Jennifer King rank 19th in the nation in save percentage. Overall, with their prolific offense and tight defense, the Tigers lead the nation in scoring margin.

Wake Forest, hailing from the Atlantic Coast Conference, arguably the nation’s best conference, sports a 10-9 overall record. The Demon Deacons avenged a loss to No. 16 Boston College in their last regular season game by posting a thrilling 2-1 overtime win in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Wake Forest took No. 1 Maryland to double overtime before falling 5-4.

The Demon Deacons have faced a gauntlet of conference games against ranked teams in the ACC, and they have a 1-4 record in conference play, not including a second loss to North Carolina that did not count as a conference game. Wake Forest has also lost to Ohio State, Stanford and Michigan State, all tournament teams. The Demon Deacons’ only loss to a non-tournament team was to Boston College.

On offense, midfielders Faith Adams, with eight goals and eight assists, and Lizzie Rae, with nine goals and two assists, lead Wake Forest. Rae has been named to the All-ACC team. The Demon Deacons are 16th in the nation in goals per game, 18th in points per game, 19th in assists per game and 21st in scoring average. All-ACC back Lauren Greenwald, who has three defensive saves on the season, anchors the Wake Forest defense, and goalkeeper Kaitlin Ruhf is 27th in the nation in saves per game.

Out of common opponents, Wake Forest has lost twice to No. 1 Maryland and once to No. 3 Virginia, while Princeton remains the only team to best Maryland, in a 4-2 contest at Class of 1952 Stadium. However, the Tigers fell to Virginia in Charlottesville during the regular season.

If Princeton advances on Saturday, it would face off against either No. 3 Virginia, the host of the tournament, or No. 11 Michigan State. If both the Tigers and Cavaliers win, their second-round game would be a rematch of the 2-1 Virginia win in Charlottesville on Oct. 8.