Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
U.S. National Team
Field Hockey Drops 7-0 Decision To National Team
September 07, 2002 | Field Hockey
Sept. 7, 2002
PRINCETON, NJ - Kelly Baril (Sr., Peabody, Mass.) made 11 saves in front of a record crowd of 2,028 at Class of 1952 Stadium as the field hockey team opened its season with a 7-0 exhibition loss to the U.S. national team on Saturday afternoon. Kelli Gannon scored three goals, while Tracey Fuchs and Carla Tagliente added two goals each as the U.S. completed its Collegiate Challenge sweep over last year's NCAA semifinalists.
"Obviously there are things we need to work on, but if we were that good now it would be scary," said Princeton head coach Beth Bozman. "The U.S. is awesome. For us, we compared it to a practice SAT. The real test is next week. We just take it one game at a time. We have a long journey ahead of us."
Tagliente put the national team on the board just 1:51 into the game when she redirected a Fuchs shot into the right corner of the cage. She added another goal off an assist from Fuchs at 25:29 to put the U.S. ahead 2-0. Kelli Gannon gave the national team a 3-0 lead going into the half when she scored off of an assist from Tara Jelley at 28:15. Fuchs made it 4-0 with a penalty stroke 38 seconds into the second half. Gannon added two more goals and Fuchs scored on to round out the 7-0 win. The game also marked the return of former Tiger, and national team member, Melanie Meerschwam '01 to Class of 1952 Stadium.
The story for Princeton was the play of Baril, who came up with several spectacular saves to keep Princeton within striking distance. A first-team All-America selection in 2001, Baril has also played on the U.S. under-23 national team.
"Last year she was great, but Kelly knew that it was not her best performance," said Bozman. "She was really happy with the way that things went this summer playing on a completely different team. Kelly has brought her game to a whole new level. We feel very confident knowing what we have behind us."
Princeton is looking to win its ninth-straight Ivy League title in 2002 and better last year's 17-3 finish. The Tigers rode a 10-game winning streak to the program's fourth NCAA Final Four appearance, but were stopped, 4-2, by eventual champion Michigan in the semifinals.
"We have seen how well this team can play," says Baril. "We haven't played that well all week because we all just worked so hard. It was amazing to watch, it was fun to watch. I know that every person on this team is dedicated to working hard for the team. That is all I can ask for, it's all anyone can ask for. Give it everything we have, play well, play hard and want it more then everybody else."
The Tigers open their regular season against Ohio University on Friday, Sept. 13 at Class of 1952 Stadium. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Box score
U.S. National Team 3 4 - 7 Princeton 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY US-1 Carla Tagliente (Tracey Fuchs) 1:51
US-2 Carla Tagliente (Tracey Fuchs) 25:29
US-3 Kelli Gannon (Tara Jelley) 28:15
Second half US-4 Tracey Fuchs (unassisted) PS 35:38
US-5 Kelli Gannon (unassisted) 49:45
US-6 Tracey Fuchs (unassisted) 65:00
US-7 Kelli Gannon (unassisted) 69:44
Shots US - 28; P - 1
Penalty Corners US - 10; P -0
Saves P - Kelly Baril 70:00, 11 saves, 7 goals against US - Peggy Storrar 70:00, 1 save, 0 goals against
USA Starters: Peggy Storrar (gk), Jenny Everett, Tracey Larson, Kelli Gannon, Tracey Fuchs, Keli Smith, Katie Beach, Carla Tagliente, Jill Reeve,Kate Barber, Tara Jelly Subs: Robyn Kenney, Abbey Woolley, Natalie Dawson, Carrie Lingo, Melanie Meerschwam, Jill Dedman (gk, 35:00)
Princeton Starters: Kelly Darling, Ilvy Friebe, Lizzie Black, Claire Miller, Natalie Martirosian, Rachael Becker, Emily Townsend, Kelly Baril (gk), Cory Picketts, Kelly Darling, Lauren Ehrlichman Subs: Kristen Skorupski, Maren Ford, Ashley Sennett, Hillary Schmidt, Jen Elliott, Ali Shames-Dawson