Princeton University Athletics
Field Hockey Hosts Columbia and Albany
September 23, 2005 | Field Hockey
Sept. 23, 2005
Princeton, N.J. - The Princeton field hockey team hosts Columbia and Albany this weekend as the Tigers begin a run of five straight games on the home turf of Class of '52 Stadium. Princeton (2-4, 2-0 Ivy) will look to extend its Ivy record to 3-0 on Saturday and then pick up its first non-conference win of the season on Sunday.
Last weekend, Princeton split its two games for the second weekend in a row. On Saturday the Tigers put forth a convincing effort at both ends of the field as they scored four times and limited Dartmouth to just two shots on goal in a 4-0 shutout. In doing so, the Tigers avenged a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Big Green a season ago. That loss had snapped a 32-game Ivy League winning streak for the Tigers and a 15-game win streak for Princeton in the series with Dartmouth.
The win also leaves Princeton as one of three unbeaten teams in Ivy League play. The Tigers and Cornell are both 2-0, while Harvard is 1-0. On the Ivy slate this weekend, Cornell hosts Yale tonight, while Harvard hosts Brown on Saturday afternoon.
In the weekend's game, Princeton dropped a tight affair with No. 12 Northeastern 3-1. Although last weekend was the first weekend of the NFHCA Coaches Poll, all four teams that Princeton has lost games to this season are now ranked either 13th or better. They are American (4th), Penn State (8th), Connecticut (15th) and Northeastern (12th). A win this coming Sunday against Albany would be the Tigers' first against a non-league opponent this season.
The Princeton offense led a balanced attack over the weekend as five players accounted for the five goals, including the collegiate first for freshmen Katie Kinzer and Elizabeth Williams. Senior Maren Ford, sophomore Sarah Yuki and sophomore Nicole Ng provided the other three goals. Yuki led all Tigers in points for the weekend as she also tallied a pair of assists. With a pair of wins this weekend, Princeton would improve its record to 4-4. Princeton has not had its record at or above .500 since the conclusion of the 2003 season.
Princeton is unbeaten in eight games against Columbia dating back to 1997 when Columbia added the sport. The Tigers are 4-0 at home and on the road in the series. Last season, Ford was one of three Tigers to score goals as Princeton down the Lions 3-1 in New York. Columbia is 3-3 on the season and just reached the .500-mark after a 1-0 overtime win over Albany on Wednesday night. The Tigers will face Albany, one of two new opponents for the Tigers, on Sunday. The other first-timer is Hofstra, who visits Princeton on Oct. 7. This is the first time that Princeton will face a team it has never faced before since the Tigers hosted Michigan State on Sept. 29, 2002. Albany is 4-5 on the season after its loss to Columbia on Wednesday. The Great Danes have had their last four games all be decided in overtime.
These games are the last two in which the Tigers will be without senior Lauren Ehrlichman, who is playing for the United States at the World Junior Cup in Santiago, Chile. The team has gone 3-1-2 to date and will finish between fifth and eighth in the final classification. The finish will mark a new high for the U.S. in that event. The team plays Argentina today and will meet either Spain or South Africa in its final game on Sunday.
Princeton continues its homestand with two games next week. Princeton hosts Cornell on Friday night and Villanova on Sunday afternoon.