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Holmes-Winn Earns 150th Win With 1-0 Victory Over Harvard
October 25, 2014 | Field Hockey
BOX SCORE
PRINCETON, N.J. - Cat Caro netted the game's only goal at 30:19 as the Princeton University field hockey team improved to 4-1 in Ivy League play with a 1-0 triumph over Harvard University.
With the victory, head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn recorded her 150th win. Upping her career mark to 150-71 (0.679), Holmes-Winn is second only to Beth Bozman (188) on the program's all-time wins list. Helping to guide the Tigers to a 77-5 (0.939) mark against Ivy League opponents, she has led Princeton to 10 conference titles in her 12 seasons.
Needing a win to keep pace atop the league standings, the Orange and Black (5-9, 4-1 Ivy) finished with a decisive 14-5 shot advantage and a 5-1 edge in penalty corners. Generating the game's first good scoring opportunity less than two minutes after the opening whistle, Princeton earned a penalty corner. Inserting it to the top of the circle, the Tigers looked to set up Sydney Kirby, who rattled a shot off of the left post at 1:54.
With the home team controlling possession in the attacking third for the majority of the first half, Harvard created a chance of its own just inside the 12-minute mark. Holding the ball at the edge of the circle, Hannah Wellington fired it toward goal, but the try veered just wide of the near post.
Going back on the offensive, Princeton broke through with less than five minutes to go before the intermission. Making a move toward the Harvard cage, Rachel Park had the ball poked away before she could get a clean shot. Corralling the loose ball, Caro took a quick touch before backhanding a hard shot past junior goalkeeper Izzy Davies.
Pushing for an equalizer early in the second half, the Crimson's Ellie Cookson carried the ball into the circle before registering a try that was blocked down by the Princeton defense. Getting a stick on the ricochet, Sarah Finnemore put a low shot on goal, forcing goalie Anya Gersoff to make a pad save.
With just over 28 minutes remaining in regulation, the Tigers nearly added to their tally. Allison Evans got things started with a shot that prompted a Davies stop. After Ryan McCarthy tested Davies on the rebound, Evans got another chance, but hit the right post to keep it 1-0. Carrying the ball up the middle of the field in the 55th minute, Kirby dribbled into the circle before narrowly missing another chance to double Princeton's lead with a shot that trickled just wide left.
Coming forward with less than 10 minutes to go, Harvard put one final shot on goal. Moving up the right side, Marissa Balleza carved out open space inside the circle, but Gersoff made a big sliding save to preserve the shutout. Gersoff had three stops en route to her fourth victory, while Davies finished with five saves.
Princeton will welcome defending national champion No. 5 University of Connecticut to Bedford Field on Sunday, Oct. 26.