Tigers triumph over Terrapins 2-1: Field Hockey proved top ten status on Sunday

Following the loss against No. 4 Harvard (8–0 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) on Friday, No. 8 Princeton (5–3 overall, 1–1 Ivy League) came into its next match looking for a victory. They found it, winning big against No. 10 Maryland (6–3 overall, 2–0 Big Ten) this Sunday.

“Maryland is good, but they are not as strong as [they were] in the past. I think systematically it will be an interesting matchup for us,” women’s field hockey Head Coach Carla Tagliente told The Daily Princetonian in advance of the matchup.

“We play similar styles,” she continued, “They have been struggling to score like us.”

The first quarter was full of momentum shifts. The Tigers, unable to maintain a rhythm, only earned one shot attempt at the end of the quarter.

Maryland was aggressive, getting the ball into Tiger territory for some quality shots in the first quarter, but none of those shots landed behind the goal line. The scoreboard read 0–0 at the end of the quarter.

“I don’t think we had all that much possession in Q1 against Maryland,” Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’ “I think the issue in Q1 for us was the number of double turnovers. The aim was to take more risks in transition and play forward more. We tried to do that, but weren’t connecting or in sync.”

Moving into the second quarter, Princeton turned on its intensity. They were able to draw the first corner of the contest during the 22nd minute of gameplay and connect for a goal from senior midfielder Beth Yeager soon after, in the 24th.

“It could easily have been 1–1 after two minutes or so,” Yeager said to the ‘Prince.’ “I think it’s not so much about getting into an early rhythm as much as establishing that we’re going to impose our will on the game, establish possessions, limit turnovers and transitions, and then take advantage when we have chances.”

The Terrapins were unable to answer the Princeton goal, and the score remained 1–0 going into the half.

The third quarter was crucial for Princeton, which has won the last four games against Maryland. Princeton outshot Maryland 9–1 in the third quarter. This dominance in the circle led to the second Princeton goal of the day. With less than a minute left in the quarter, senior defender Ella Hampson scored. The Maryland goalie kicked a shot attempt to the middle of the circle, where Hampson got a stick on it, controlled it, and rattled it into the cage.

The score was 2–0 going into the last fifteen minutes of play.

Maryland, against the clock, put pressure on Princeton’s defense. With nine minutes left, the Terrapins drew their first corner of the game. Just a minute later, Maryland’s Maci Bradford got a shot to fly, landing a goal. Maryland trailed 2–1.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The late effort for the Terrapins stopped there, though. While they had three other shot opportunities in the fourth, two were stopped by Princeton defenders during corners, and one was deflected by junior goalie Olivia Caponiti.

By the end of the game, Princeton outshot Maryland 17–9 and held onto a 2–1 win.

“It was really helpful to have another game so quickly after the Harvard game,” Yeager told the ‘Prince.’ “We really wanted to get a chance to show ourselves more than anyone else that we could beat a top-ten team and that we could play better than we had on Friday. I think we did that. More than anything else, I think we just needed to refocus and play as hard as we could, and that’s what we did.”

The Tigers look to continue their road streak as they are scheduled to play No. 17 Yale in New Haven on Friday.

Emilia Reay is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince’ and the Spanish Language Pilot Program Director.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.