Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Visits Brown in Battle of League's Top Two Field Hockey Teams
October 14, 2005 | Field Hockey
Oct. 14, 2005
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton field hockey team looks to stay atop the Ivy League field hockey standings this weekend when it visits Brown on Saturday afternoon in a battle between the league's top two teams. Princeton's Ivy League record currently stands at 4-0, while Brown's is 2-1. On Sunday, Princeton visits No. 19 Boston University.
The Tigers (5-7, 4-0 Ivy) and Bears (5-5, 2-1 Ivy) are the only two teams in the league that control their own destinies. If Princeton wins its final three games, it will be 7-0 and atop the league standings. If Brown wins out, there could be a three-way tie atop the league standings between them, Princeton and Cornell. In that case, all three teams would be considered Ivy League Co-Champions, but the Bears would receive the bid to the NCAA Tournament because they would have beaten both Princeton and Cornell.
Princeton has not played a league game in the last 14 days, dating back to a 2-1 win over Cornell on Sept. 30. The Big Red is currently 4-1 on the year with their lone loss coming to the Tigers. Brown currently ranks third at 2-1 with a loss to Dartmouth. Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn each have two losses, while Yale and Columbia are both 0-3. In league action this weekend, Penn hosts Columbia on Friday night, while Harvard travels to Yale on Saturday, in addition to Princeton's game at Brown. There are four non-league match-ups scheduled for Sunday afternoon, including Princeton's trip to No. 19 Boston University.
Princeton has dropped its last three games, after winning three straight prior to that. In the first two losses, Princeton has outshot both opponents and had more penalty corner chances. In the two games Princeton has taken 35 shots, but only two goals to show for it, in losses to Villanova and Hofstra. On Tuesday, the Tigers fell to second-ranked Maryland 5-1. Sophomore Paige Schmidt scored to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the first half, but Maryland battle back in the second half to earn the win. Princeton is 19-8-1 all-time against Brown and is 6-6-1 in game played in Providence, R.I. The Tigers have won five-straight games in the series and have shut out the Bears in the last two games. Last year Princeton rolled to a 6-0 win at Class of '52 Stadium. Senior Maren Ford and Paige Schmidt each scored in the win, while junior Allison Nemeth made a save to earn the shutout.
Brown enters the game off a 9-2 loss at No. 16 Boston College on Wednesday night. Last weekend the Bears picked up their second Ivy win by edging Columbia 2-1. Brown also has a win over Harvard.
On Sunday, Princeton visits Boston University for its sixth game this season against a team currently ranked in the top 20. The Terriers are 9-3 overall and 2-0 in America East play. The team has won six in a row dating back to a loss at Northeastern on Sept. 16. BU has defeated Ivy opponents Yale and Dartmouth this season.
The Tigers are 9-2 all-time against Boston University and have won six of the last seven meetings between the schools. Princeton has won the last two meetings, including a 5-4 win at home last season. In that game, Princeton rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take a 4-3 lead. The Terriers tied it up with seven minutes to go before Kelly Darling gave Princeton the win with 1:24 left on the clock. Paige and Hillary Schmidt both scored Princeton goals in the win.
Princeton completes its four-game stretch of games away from home next Saturday at Harvard.