Tigers headed to NCAA's after 9th-straight Ivy title

The No. 5 Princeton field hockey team earned an important victory Saturday in its final match of the season, defeating Penn 5-1 in Philadelphia. The win capped off a strong regular season for the defending national champion Tigers (13-4 overall, 7-0 Ivy League), in which they finished on a seven-game win streak and won the Ivy League with a perfect record. After ending Penn’s (13-4, 5-2) five-game winning streak, Princeton will now face Penn State (13-5, 5-1 Big Ten)in the NCAA tournament on Nov. 16.

Princeton jumped ahead of the Quakers early on in the match when freshman midfielder Cat Caro capitalized on a short corner opportunity, finding the net off a rebound only two minutes, eight seconds into the game. Penn responded just over 10 minutes later, however, knotting the score at 1-1 when attacker Elizabeth Hitti recovered a shot blocked by Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Anya Gersoff, scoring at 13:08.

The Tigers did not allow the game to remain tied for long. Princeton goals scored by senior midfielder Michelle Cesan and senior back Amanda Bird, both of which came within five minutes of Hitti’s, propelled the Tigers to a 3-1 lead by halftime. After outshooting the Quakers 10-3 during the first half, Princeton’s attack did not relent in the second half. The Tigers took it to Penn in the second, firing 18 shots to Penn’s three, adding goals from Cesan and junior striker Allison Evans, who scored her second goal of the afternoon with under two minutes remaining.

In addition to this solid offense, Princeton also remained staunch on defense against the only team in the Ivy League with a higher scoring average than theirs. The Tigers held their opponent to one goal or less for the third straight game, limiting the Quakers to only six shots total. Princeton’s defense ended the Ivy League season allowing only 1.56 goals per game, far and away the lowest average in the league. Penn’s defense was the second best in the Ivy League, allowing an average of 1.97 goals per game. Gersoff recorded four saves, earning her ninth win of the season.

With the victory, the Tigers completed a season sweep of the Ivy League, finishing the season a perfect 7-0 against league competition. Princeton defeated its league opponents by a combined score of 32-5, holding its opponents to two goals or fewer and defeating them by more than two goals in every Ivy League game. As impressive as those numbers are, they are nothing unusual for Princeton, which has finished a perfect 7-0 in the Ivy League eight of the past 11 years. The Tigers have won the Ivy League championship 19 of the past 20 seasons and 22 times overall.

As the Ivy League champion, Princeton is now guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament this season for the tenth consecutive year. Last season, Princeton won the national championship after entering the tournament ranked second in the country. The first round of this season’s tournament will begin Saturday, Nov. 16.