Field Hockey: Sharkey rewrites record book in successful year

“It didn’t go as we had hoped,” All-America junior striker Kathleen Sharkey said. “From day one of preseason we were hoping to get back to the final four and get to that championship game and we didn’t quite make it there.”

The team started its season on a tear, winning its first eight games. Most notable during that streak was Princeton’s victory over national champion No. 1 Maryland (23-1), the only defeat the Terrapins suffered all year.

“The biggest highlight of the season was definitely beating Maryland at home in front of a large crowd, and beating them by two goals, which was awesome,” Sharkey said.

With the band cheering the Tigers on at Class of 1952 Stadium, Princeton beat the Terps 4-2 on the strength of two scores and an assist from All-America junior midfielder Katie Reinprecht and two assists and a goal by Sharkey.

While the Tigers continued to crush their Ivy League competition — compiling an astonishing 46-5 cumulative score against their league foes — they began struggling against out-of-conference opponents. On the heels of a home loss to No. 9 American, Princeton succumbed to No. 3 Virginia (18-3) five days later. The Cavaliers later eliminated the Tigers in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-2 victory.

“We kind of peaked a little early, I guess,” Sharkey said. “I just thought we were really unlucky this season with different elements of the game.”

One of those elements was most certainly the team’s health. Reinprecht missed time late in the season due to injury, as did junior midfielder and co-captain Alyssa Pyros, freshman defender Amanda Bird and senior goalkeeper Jennifer King. Freshman midfielder Kelsey Byrne missed the entire season due to an ACL injury.

Facing constant setbacks, many of the team’s freshmen were thrown into everyday roles.

“[Goalkeeper] Christina Maida did awesome coming in as a freshman and doing so well. I think all of our freshmen contributed every day in practice and in the games, too,” Sharkey said.

Sharkey, meanwhile, made splashes day in and day out with her record-breaking offensive play. The prolific scorer set Princeton records for goals in a game and points and goals in a season, and she was one of the nominees for the 2010 Honda Sports Award for field hockey. With another year of eligibility, Sharkey looks poised to tear through the Tigers’ record book while keeping her mind on the team.

“I definitely don’t think about my total number of goals or anything like that,” she said. “Once you start to think about records and individual honors it hurts your game and it hurts your team, so I don’t really focus on it at all. Just contributing to the team as best I can.”

Looking forward, head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn and her staff have recruited seven members of the Class of 2015 to join the squad.

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What remains up in the air, however, is whether some of the Princeton stars will be around to play next season. With the 2012 Olympics coming up, it is very possible that veterans such as Sharkey, Katie Reinprecht, and sophomores Julie Reinprecht and Michelle Cesan will take time off to practice with and play for the U.S. national team.

“There’s a possibility we’ll be missing at least one or two players for next year’s season,” Sharkey said. “But everyone else is ready to step up and we’ve got a great freshman class coming in, so I think we’ll be okay.”