Princeton University Athletics
Four Players Recognized On All-America Teams For Field Hockey
January 09, 2001 | Field Hockey
Jan. 9, 2001
Nov. 20, 2000
PRINCETON, N.J. - The Princeton field hockey team capped off an incredible year of team accomplishment as four players have been selected to the 2000 Astro Turf/NFHCA Division I All-America list.
Seniors Hilary Matson and Melanie Meerschwam lead the list of Princeton honorees with their selection to the first team. Matson led the Tigers offensively with 16 goals and 15 assists for 47 points, while Meerschwam followed with a second-best 29 points on nine goals and eleven assists.
The two players combined for 77 goals and 57 assists over the course of their four years at Princeton and both have earned themselves a spot within the top-five all-time in scoring. Matson finished her career third on the all-time points list with 122 (42 goals, 38 assists), and Meerschwam finished fifth all-time with 89 points (35 goals, 19 assists). Second-team honors were earned by sophomores Emily Townsend and Kelly Baril. Townsend not only anchored the Tiger defense, she also showed her offensive power by finishing third on the team in scoring with 23 points (10 goals, three assists). Defensively, Townsend was responsible for robbing opponents of scoring opportunities with a team-high five defensive saves. Baril, a goalkeeper, finished her second season for Princeton with 98 saves, seven shut-outs, an .830 save percentage and a 1.10 goals against average.
Princeton ended its season with a 14-4 record (7-0 Ivy League) and earned its seventh-consecutive Ivy League championship. The Tigers returned to the national spotlight as well, after missing out on the NCAA tournament last season, by not only making the tournment in 2000 but advancing to the second round of play with a 4-2 win over Penn State. Princeton was eliminated in the second round by Maryland 3-1.