On Sunday, No. 6 Princeton field hockey (4–1 Ivy League, 10–3 overall) came up with a decisive win against No. 13 Monmouth (3–0 Coastal Athletic Association, 10–3 overall) at home at Bedford Field. Monmouth had only lost to Ivy League opponents prior to this game, and Princeton continued the streak.
From the first whistle, Monmouth presented an aggressive man-to-man defense. Their strong defensive pressure created quick momentum in Tiger territory during the first minutes of the quarter.
“It was great that we didn’t go individual,” first-year midfielder Caitlin Thompson told The Daily Princetonian when asked about how the Tigers managed the Hawks’ defense. “Often when you get pinned down and tired, you can go to yourself to take on the players. We just kept using our screens to find connections.”
“Our defense is so good at changing up the outlet and continuing to float balls into space away from defenders,” she added.
After adjusting to the Monmouth defense, the Tigers worked strong attack progressions up the right side, but by the end of the first quarter, the score remained at 0–0.
“Our press struggled to get out of the gates, but once we fixed it, we created more counterattack opportunities,” Head Coach Carla Tagliente said.
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers were awarded a corner. The original corner by the Tigers was stopped by the Hawks, and junior midfielder Ella Cashman took the pass wide on the right for a lifted ball into the middle of the circle. At the 12:25 mark in the second quarter, senior midfielder Beth Yeager, who was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, finished Cashman’s work with a tip into the Hawks’ goal. Princeton led 1–0.
The momentum briefly shifted back to the Hawks with an offensive push ending in a defensive corner for the Tigers at the 9:22 mark. Yet, Monmouth couldn’t convert the corner into a goal. Junior goalie Olivia Caponiti led the defense to a stop and a progression out of the Tigers’ circle. Caponiti received Ivy League praise for her performance, earning Defensive Player of the Week. Overall, Princeton’s defense held the Hawks to just five attacking penalty corners during the game.
To end the first half, Princeton scored its second goal from another corner. Yeager completed a play to goal with a drag flick with less than a minute to go. Even entering halftime leading 2–0, the Tigers still felt that they had more to show for themselves.
“At halftime, we knew that we weren’t playing to our full potential. But we were still getting shots on goal, and we just wanted to keep going forward because we’ve had a big weekend — but that isn’t an excuse to let anything start sliding,” Thompson told the ‘Prince.’
Princeton dominated the second half with aggressive attacking and a strong forward press, leading to numerous scoring opportunities.
Around the middle of the third quarter, the Tigers earned three successive corners. While none led to points, they emphasized Princeton’s control of the game.
Monmouth countered with two corners, though the Tigers kept their composure. Caponiti had two saves off of one of the corners, and junior defender Ottilie Sykes also made a save during the play.
“Monmouth swept it, I made the first save, then there was a rebound,” Caponiti said about the Tigers’ defense during the play. “There were a whole bunch of people, like tipping, I went to go save it, and I ended up on the ground. Then Ott [Sykes] had a beautiful goalline save. Everyone was there just trying to hit the ball out, so it was really a team effort."
Sophomore midfielder Molly Nye converted the defensive energy to offensive energy, and the momentum carried to the end of the quarter. Nye earned the Tigers a corner, and she scored the Tigers’ third goal with an assist from Cashman.
While the game could have ended 3–0, the Tigers didn’t settle. They were awarded a corner only about a minute into the final quarter, and Yeager unleashed her signature drag flick. This time, it was tipped in by Thompson, putting the Tigers up 4–0.
Monmouth showed a glimmer of hope, getting one past Caponiti toward the end of the game, but Thompson retaliated with her second goal of the game, the fifth and final goal for Princeton. Thompson was assisted by fellow first-year midfielder Tabby Vaughan. The final score was 5–1.
Princeton had a season-high shot statistic against the Hawks with 30 shots, 10 of which occurred in the final quarter.
The Tigers look to continue their perfect 5–0 away game winning streak with an Ivy League game in Providence against No. 20 Brown this Friday.
Emilia Reay is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince’ and the Spanish Language Pilot Program Director.
Cadigan Perriello is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
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