The Ivy League foes were on the national stage this Friday. This game was the third time No. 2 Princeton (18–3 overall, 7–1 Ivy League) and No. 3 Harvard (19–2, 8–2) have met this season, each team earning a win of their own — Harvard in their regular season contest and Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament Championship. The Tigers pulled it out when it mattered to punch their ticket to the NCAA Division I Championship game, a first since 2019, when they lost to the North Carolina Heels.
“Everyone came up to us being like, ‘Aww Harvard that’s a tough one … not again’ but we just played them and it was fresh in our minds, so I think it was a great game,” sophomore midfielder Anna Faulstich told The Daily Princetonian.
This game was gritty from the get go. In the first quarter, there was high ball pressure on both sides. The battle between two of the top defenses in the country was going to come down to offense.
Princeton was able to get a sequence of corners five minutes into play. Senior midfielder Beth Yeager employed her drag flick three times, and on the fourth corner the Tigers switched up the play. Junior defender Ottilie Sykes sent a bullet to the keeper’s pads.
The back and forth led to a scoreless first quarter, and scoreless first half.
In the second quarter, Princeton started with momentum. With less than 30 seconds played in this quarter, Yeager drew another corner for the Tigers. She tried to reverse the ball in, but Harvard stopped it. Both of these programs’ defenses were on display today.
“I think we’re both very defensively good and I think it was always going to be a battle of who could get the goals in,” Faulstich told the ‘Prince.’ “Defense is both of our strong points.”
The Tiger defense held Harvard to just five shots on the day. The Crimson were able to get one of those five shots off during a corner play with five minutes remaining in the first half. Junior goalkeeper Olivia Caponiti was on the ground to stop Harvard’s hit.
Halftime came and it was tied 0–0. Thus far, the game was playing out like the teams’ last matchup, with both sides tied at halftime yet again.
“I thought it was a stalemate [during the first half],” Head Coach Carla Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’ “The message going into the game was to be present, come out and get a quick first start and throw the first punch.”
The third quarter would follow the same pattern of the second half: defensive battles and circle opportunities for both teams, but no goals to show for it. Princeton earned their seventh attack corner with about seven minutes to go in this quarter, and Yeager had a drag flick that looked like it was goal-bound, but Harvard’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year goalkeeper Linde Burger got the stick save mid air to deter the attempt.
Princeton was in the Crimson’s circle to end the quarter, foreshadowing the attack efforts they would make in the fourth to win this semifinal.
“I think we knew that we would make a goal happen,” Faulstich said. “We had trust in ourselves. That’s the kind of team we are.”
Less than two minutes into the final 15 minutes of the game, sophomore forward Pru Lindsey was issued a green card, and Princeton went down a player. Then about six minutes later, Harvard’s Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Bronte-May Brough was issued a yellow card. The time was now for Princeton.
With under four to go, Faulstich worked her way onto the baseline of the pitch, and sent a cross cage ball into the circle. It trickled through the pads of Harvard’s Burger and into the goal. Princeton took the 1–0 lead.
“I definitely didn’t expect it to go in,” Faulstich told the ‘Prince.’ “It was meant to be a pass but we often talk about not playing prissy hockey anymore. A goal wins the game, and it doesn’t have to be a pretty one.”
After that, Harvard’s forward Sage Piekarski, the Ivy League’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year (shared with Yeager) was issued a yellow card. Harvard still found a way down to Tiger territory, but Princeton’s Caponiti made a million-dollar save. Harvard earned a corner off that play, however they couldn’t connect.
The Crimson had no choice but to pull their goalkeeper as the clock wound down. Princeton now had the numbers advantage on the field, and a wide open goal.
With 15 seconds remaining, first-year midfielder Caitlin Thompson clanged the ball against an unprotected cage. The Tigers won it 2–0, sending the Crimson packing. The Orange and Black proved to be the Achilles’ heel for Harvard, handing them their only two losses of the season at crucial junctures.
Now, Princeton is set to play the Northwestern Wildcats for the national championship. Like Harvard, the Wildcats’ only loss this season came from the Tigers in Evanston, when Yeager’s fourth quarter goal sealed the win.
The Tigers’ previous and only national championship came in 2012, in a 3–2 victory over North Carolina. Northwestern sits as defending champions after thrashing Saint Joe’s 5–0 in last year’s title game. The Wildcats also finished as the nation’s top team in 2021.
After a season of giant killing, Old Nassau has one more foe to fall. The national championship will begin at 1 p.m. on Sunday in Durham, N.C., and will be available to watch on ESPNU or NCAA.
“Obviously it’s special because [Grace Schulze ’24], our old teammate, plays for them,” Faulstich said. “It will definitely be sad when we beat Northwestern. I’ll feel bad for her.”
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.
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