Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Field Hockey Season Opens Next Weekend (Includes Video)
August 30, 2009 | Field Hockey
Click on the video above to watch senior Christina Bortz and sophomore Katie Reinprecht discuss the preseason and the upcoming 2009 season.
The 2009 Princeton field hockey season opens next weekend when the Tigers visit Syracuse for two games, one with the Orange and one with Ohio State. Princeton enters the season with a preseason national ranking of seventh and high expectations for the 2009 season.
Princeton enters the season with high standards as it looks to defend the Ivy League crown it has won in each of the past four seasons and in 15 of the last 16 seasons. Princeton has advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in two of the past three seasons and was an overtime goal away from advancing to the national semifinals a season ago. Princeton's 2008 squad went 17-3 but with the graduation of nine players, eight of which started during their careers, the 2009 squad will have a somewhat different look.
The Tigers return 15 players, seven of which saw action during Princeton's NCAA tournament games last season. The returning group is led by sophomore Katie Reinprecht, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, senior Christina Bortz, Princeton's leading active scorer, and sophomore Kathleen Sharkey, the 2008 Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
Reinprecht and Sharkey were strong from the start of the their freshman seasons as each earned All-America honors as each scored 15 goals during the season. Bortz added five goals last year after scoring 12 as sophomore. Princeton can also rely on the experience senior Kaitlyn Perrelle, a defensive mainstay, and senior Kaitlin Donovan, who has 11 career goals, primarily off the bench.
Princeton also returning experience in goal where junior Jennifer King and senior Cynthia Wray combined for 17 wins, seven shutouts and a 1.42 goals-against average last season. The pair split playing time during the regular season with King playing in the postseason.
To its experienced returning players, the Tigers have a strong group of returning players looking to step into larger roles and a talented class of six freshmen.
The Tigers open the season on Sept. 5 and 6, first facing Ohio State and then meeting Syracuse. By the time the teams play, both opponents will already have played a pair of games as Ohio State hosts James Madison and Saint Louis this weekend and Syracuse visits Northeastern and New Hampshire.
Although Princeton will not have played a real game, the Tigers will have a pair of scrimmages under their belts when the season opens. The Tigers scrimmaged the University of Toronto on Friday and will scrimmage Penn on Sunday.