Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Ivy Match at Yale Next for Princeton Field Hockey Team
September 24, 2010 | Field Hockey
GAMETIME: Saturday, Sept. 25 at 12 noon
2010 RECORDS: Princeton (5-0, 1-0 Ivy); Yale (4-2, 1-0 Ivy)
SERIES RECORD: Princeton leads 34-2-3 overall and 17-2-1 at home
LAST MEETING: Princeton won 5-2 on Sept 26, 2009 at home
STREAK: Princeton has won the last 25 meetings
LINKS: Livestats
PRINCETON (9/24/10) - The Princeton field hockey team returns to action this weekend with a single game on the road at Yale. It will be the second Ivy League game of the season for Princeton, as well as its second game away from home.
Princeton is a perfect 5-0 this season and is one of four remaining undefeated teams in the nation. The Tigers ran their season-opening win streak to five games with two wins last weekend. On Friday, the Tigers were too much for Dartmouth in a 9-1 win. Two days later, Princeton took a 1-0 defensive battle from Syracuse on a late goal from Michelle Cesan.
Princeton's win over Dartmouth marked its fourth-straight performance of seven goals or more against an Ivy League opponent dating back to last season. The Tigers have now won 18 straight Ivy League games dating back to the 2007 season. At 18 games, it is the third longest Ivy win streak in program history behind streaks of 35 and 32 games during the late 90s and early 2000s.
In the Dartmouth win, six players scored goals and eight collected points. Kathleen Sharkey's three goals paced the team, while Katie Reinprecht added a pair. Molly Goodman, Cesan, Rachel Neufeld and Amanda Bird also scored goals in the win.
Two days later Princeton matched up with then eighth-ranked Syracuse in a rematch of the last two NCAA quarterfinals. The game was a stalemate through 68 minutes before Cesan scored to give Princeton the win in the closing minutes. Princeton excelled defensively in the game and freshman goalkeeper Christina Maida made six saves on her way to being named the Ivy League's Rookie of the Week.
The win was Princeton's first of the season over a ranked team as the Tigers remaining six non-league games are all schedule against teams currently ranked in the national polls. Princeton remained fourth in the latest Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll with the top four teams remaining unchanged. Princeton has games against second-ranked Maryland and 15th-ranked Maryland on its horizon. The Tigers also currently rank second in the NCAAs RPI rankings through last weekend's games. Virginia tops those rankings.
Another full slate of Ivy League games is scheduled for this weekend with the four teams that won last week all playing one another. The weekend begins with Cornell and Columbia meeting on Friday night, with the other three games being played on Saturday. The Cornell-Columbia and Princeton-Yale games feature the four 1-0 teams, while the Harvard-Penn and Brown-Dartmouth games feature the 0-1 teams.
Yale sports a 4-2 overall record this season and has split two games each of the last two weekends. Last Saturday, the Bulldogs used a late goal to defeat Harvard 1-0 on the road. Back in New Haven on Sunday, Yale had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 but eventually lost to Maine in overtime by a 3-2 score. Yale also has wins over Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac and Colgate this season and its other loss came in overtime to Massachusetts. Yale's leading scorers are Taylor Sankovich and Erica Borgo.
Princeton leads the all-time series with Yale 34-2-3 with a 17-0-2 record in games played in New Haven. Princeton has wont he last 25 games in the series and topped the Bulldogs 5-2 a season ago at home. In that win, Princeton built a 4-0 lead before a couple of late Yale goals. Katie Reinprecht had three goals and an assist in the win, while Sharkey had a goal and two assists. Neufeld had the other Princeton goal.