Princeton field hockey dominates in 6–1 win against Yale

On Friday, No. 9 Princeton Tigers (7–4 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) controlled the game from start to finish at Johnson Field in New Haven against the Yale Bulldogs (6–4, 1–1).

Coming off their loss against Lafayette, the Tigers’ fifth game within 10 days, the athletes finally had a chance to rest during the week before their match against Yale.

“Our mindset coming into the game was to prove a point and start fresh,” sophomore forward Lily Webb wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “We wanted to focus on the process, controlling the aspects of the game we could, and trusted if we did that, the result would follow.”

The game started strong offensively on both ends, with three shots by Princeton and two shots from Yale in the first eight minutes of the game. However, the ball didn’t find the net until the ninth minute when Webb scored the first goal of the game.

In the second quarter, the Tigers played four attack penalty corners in a row before senior forward and captain Sammy Popper was finally able to score another goal. Assisted by senior forward/midfielder Ophélie Bemelmans and junior forward Grace Schulze, Popper’s goal put the Tigers up 2–0.

The Tigers immediately put more pressure on Yale with another six consecutive penalty corners, none of which resulted in a goal. In the final eight seconds of the first half, Schulze netted the Tigers’ third goal of the game, putting them comfortably up 3–0 as the teams headed into half-time.

Despite the Tigers outshooting the Bulldogs 12–2 in the first half, the beginning of the third quarter saw a shift as Yale began to play in a more unified manner.

In the final five minutes of the third quarter, junior forward Liz Agatucci, assisted by senior forward Claire Donovan, scored a goal on the Tigers’ 13th attack penalty corner of the game.

The Bulldogs responded with a successful penalty corner of their own from midfielder Théodora Dillman, ending the third quarter with a score of 4–1 in favor of the Tigers.

Schulze got the final quarter off to a quick start, scoring her second goal of the game and of the season in under two minutes. For the majority of the final quarter, strong defensive play by both the Tigers and the Bulldogs — with saves by both teams’ goalies — prevented any further scoring. With two minutes remaining in the game, sophomore forward/midfielder Aimee Jungfer scored the final goal of the game, leaving the Tigers up 6–1 as the seconds ticked away.

“I think what was more important is that we kept this intensity until the final second of the game, which says a lot about who we are as a team,” Webb said.

“What was so special about this game for us was that every player on the roster played in the game and made an impact,” Webb added. “We had 8 different players with a goal or assist, which demonstrates the level of depth we have as a group.”