Field hockey advances in NCAA Tournament with win over Maryland

The Princeton field hockey team achieved two huge goals this Saturday: get off the snide against a longtime rival, and take itself deeper into their postseason.

Traveling to Syracuse, N.Y., for the first round of the 2015 NCAA Championships, Princeton (11-6 overall, 7-0 Ivy League) took down No. 7 ranked University of Maryland, the very same team that defeated the Tigers 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament last year. Indeed, the Tigers had been given extra motivation this season as well — the Terps (19-4 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) had defeated the Tigers 0-3 in College Park, Md., earlier this season.

Maryland opened the game with aggressive play, forcing a strong defensive effort from senior goalie Anya Gersoff to keep the team at bay. After warding the Terps off in the early going, however, the Tigers made a decisive counterassault. Working off of a penalty shot from freshman striker Sophia Tornetta in the 22ndminute, sophomore striker Ryan McCarthy launched a shot at Maryland goalie Sarah Holiday. While the first attempt was blocked, junior midfielder Cat Caro was able to corral the blocked shot and put it in for the score: 1-0 lead for the Tigers.

Tornetta, second on the team in points on the season (5 goals, 9 assists), was not yet finished. Come the 31stminute, senior back Kate Ferrara, already deep in the Maryland side, sent it sailing over to Tornetta, moving toward the left side of the Maryland goal. Tornetta gathered the ball and found the back of the net to double the Tigers’ lead in the first half.

The Tigers’ first 35 minutes was not without stellar defensive effort. The Terps made a final push to cut the Tigers’ lead in half — Maryland’s Alyssa Parker seemed to have found the opportunity her team needed to score. Senior midfielder Debi Jantzen, however, laid herself out to keep the ball out of the Tiger goal, and with it, dampened Maryland’s chances at making the comeback.

The fun did not end there for the Tigers — Tornetta would continue their onslaught with her second goal of the game in the 59th minute, sealing Princeton’s victory. A lone goal from Maryland’s Julie Duncan at the 67-minute mark prevented the Terps from being shut out completely, but was not enough to stave off the Tigers’ upset.

With an invigorating victory, the Tigers will receive little rest as they prepare to take on the Syracuse Orange (18-1 overall, 6-0 ACC) on Sunday at 12 p.m.Syracuse holds the No. 1 ranking in the country, and taking them on in their home turf, at such high stakes, is arguably the Tigers’ toughest task of the season.