Following crushing loss to No. 2 Maryland, Tigers turn to Ivy matchup

In fall 1984, actor Ronald Reagan roared across the 50 states in one of U.S. history’s most domineering presidential campaigns, a campaign which earned the Californian four more years in office. During that period, Princeton field hockey would have felt more like defeated Democrat Walter Mondale than the victorious Reagan. 1984 saw the Orange and Black lose five consecutive contests.

This streak stood as the single longest mark in program history, until this past Wednesday at Bedford Field when today’s Tigers (3-9 overall, 1-1 Ivy) dropped their fifth straight against No. 2 Maryland (12-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) by a score of 8-1. This weekend, they will continue their homestand against league opponent Brown (8-3, 1-2).

In an interview with TigerCast, the official podcast of Princeton Athletics, senior captain and midfielder Sydney Kirby spoke of her side’s attempt to maintain a positive mentality in the light of several crushing losses.

“I would say keeping our confidence up has definitely been a difficult task,” Kirby said. “Coming in as freshmen, the girls kind of assumed that we’d be at the top of the Ivy League and winning a lot of games. Since that hasn’t been a reality, it’s been kind of hard. We’ve had to shift our mentality to one that doesn’t assume anymore.”

During the course of Wednesday’s loss, just three Princeton players managed a shot on goal, with only sophomore midfielder Cat Caro testing the opposing keeper more than once. Her second attempt, coming with 21:59 remaining in the second period, resulted in her side’s lone successful effort. During the brief seconds of offensive possession following a Princeton penalty corner, freshman striker Lexi Quirk assisted Caro for the sophomore’s third marker of the season.

At this point, however, Maryland’s lead had become insurmountable. The scoreboard read 4-1 in favor of the visitors. Less than five minutes later, the Terrapins’ senior forward Katie Gerzabek converted her first shot of the game for her team’s fifth score. The No. 2 side proceeded to add four more goals before the fulltime buzzer sounded. Senior midfielder/forward Maxine Fluharty, a first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference selection last year, led all players in shooting and scoring with nine attempts and three goals.

Junior goalkeeper Anya Gersoff faced a barrage of shots throughout the contest. During the 70 minutes of play, she was called upon 19 times. She saved 11 of her opponents’ shots on goal, falling one short of her career high of 12. Maryland totaled 28 shots, nearly twice the season average allowed by Princeton.

The loss to the Terrapins also ties Princeton’s largest historical margin of defeat. One of the other seven-point differentials came during the aforementioned 1984 losing streak in the form of an 8-1 Temple University win over the Tigers.

Having suffered only a single Ivy League loss, the Tigers remain in the conference title race. Earlier this year, Columbia dropped a home overtime contest to Cornell by a score of 2-1. As Columbia is the lone Ivy side to top Princeton, an Orange and Black win over the Big Red would result in a three-way tie for first place. Of course, this scenario requires that those three sides win their remaining league matchups, no small task in a fast-improving conference.

While this season has proven that it is imprudent to base predictions off of past success, Princeton holds considerable series advantages over Brown. The Tigers’ record against Bruno stands at 28-8-1. he last loss against this side came in 1999, when Brown earned a 2-1 home win over the Orange and Black.

Princeton will look to take strike early in these favorable matchups. Kirby acknowledged that her side’s failure to capitalize on early chances has made winning far from easy.

“During the first half of the season, we sat back and played a little bit more defensively,” she remarked. “We really only had a fire lit under us when we were scored against.”

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Bruno’s senior forward Meghan O’Donnell, Brown’s leading scorer for her fourth straight season, has tallied an impressive 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. This total is good for third in the Ivy League.

Kirby maintained that this weekend will provide a chance for her and her teammates to reassert themselves following a long stretch of adversity: “I think this coming weekend is going to be a really good opportunity for us to show that we’re still there mentally, and no one’s going to bring us down.”

Field hockey’s schedule has been almost unequivocally the Ivy League’s most difficult. The Tigers can at least take solace in the fact that which they have played tight with a number of national contenders. The loss to No. 13 Syracuse University came by only one goal and in double overtime.

Princeton therefore finds itself in an unfamiliar position. Consistently the tyrants of the Ancient Eight, the Tigers now face an uphill battle to stay in the championship race.

“I think it would be way more special to win at this point than our usual skating by and winning every game. Our team has faced more adversity than almost any other team we could have possibly faced. That’s exciting. I think all the girls and our coaches know that we can do this. We’re excited by the fact that every game is a must-win,” Kirby said.