This article is part of our 2015 Fall Preview
This Princeton field hockey team, fresh from their 10th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, will be put to the test this season. They’ve already taken their lumps against two of some of the best teams in the nation, No. 3 UNC and No. 4 UVA (rankings as of Sept. 15). The schedule won’t get easier down the road, as they will play more of the nation’s top teams later this fall.
But Tigers fans have more than enough to look forward to in this team, especially once league play kicks in. The field hockey team has had an amazing run at the top of the Ivy League — under coach Kristen Holmes-Winn, they’ve been the Ivy League 10 consecutive times.
Part of this domination, of course, means that the Tigers need to seek extra challenge outside of the conference in order to be best prepared come November. The Tigers have already faced top-ranked UNC and UVA — they’ll be playing No. 1 UConn and No. 2 Syracuse later this season.
The players and coaches feel that these types of games will only strengthen the team for the playoffs.
“We want to be able to compete on the national stage, and in order to do that, we have to have a tough non-conference schedule,” Holmes-Winn said. “We want to be objective about where we sit, and what we need to do to get better. We focus in on making improvements each day … so we can be really prepared for league play, and hopefully by the end of the season be prepared to compete in that first round.”
Junior midfielder Cat Caro expressed a similar sentiment.
“Our coaches want us to have a really tough schedule so we know how the best of the best teams play,” Caro said. “So when we come to November where we’ve already seen them, and we’re not shocked when it really matters."
Of course, the ability to continue such amazing performance and compete deep into November is contingent on the team’s senior leadership. The end of last season saw the departure of the Tigers’ top-two leaders in overall points, Allison Evans '15 and Sydney Kirby '15. However, the team now features a slew of high-performing returners to lead them back to the top. On offense, our eyes are on senior striker Maddie Copeland, senior midfielder Teresa Benvenuti, Caro and sophomore striker Ryan McCarthy. In addition, freshman striker Sophia Tornetta has stepped up in her first few games, putting in two goals and four assists through the first five games of play.
On the defensive end, the Tigers have seen strong performances from senior goalie Anya Gersoff, especially against aforementioned powerhouses UNC and UVA. She racked up a career high in saves against the Tar Heels, and matched that number against the Cavaliers, en route to Ivy League Player of the Week honors.
In short, the best seems yet to come for this field hockey squad. After weathering the storm of the early season, expect them to come out roaring once it’s time to face the other Ivies. And you’d be wise not to sleep on this team when the postseason rolls around.
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