Princeton University
Cornell
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Three Different Tigers Score to Help Field Hockey Rally Past Cornell, 3-2
November 01, 2014 | Field Hockey
BOX SCORE
ITHACA, N.Y. - Despite surrendering an early goal, the Princeton University field hockey team improved to 5-1 in Ivy League play with a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Cornell University.
With the two squads entering the contest locked in a first-place tie with Columbia atop the conference standings, the Tigers kept pace with the Lions, who defeated Yale, 4-0. Dropping their seventh straight game to the Orange and Black, Cornell fell to 10-5 (4-2 Ivy) on the year.
Wasting little time getting on the board, Katy Weeks staked the home team to an early lead with a goal just 5:25 after the opening whistle. Inserting the Big Red's first penalty corner, Ann DiPastina helped set up a Marisa Siergiej shot. Getting a stick on the try, Weeks redirected the blast past Princeton goalie Anya Gersoff. The goal was Cornell's first against Princeton since the 2011 season, snapping a stretch of 166:01 scoreless minutes.
Outshooting the Big Red 10-2 in the first half, the visitors netted a pair of scores in the frame's final 10 minutes. Taking advantage of a Cornell miscue, Sydney Kirby came up with the equalizer at 25:19 by successfully converting a penalty stroke to notch her sixth goal of the season. Finding the back of the opposing cage for the second time in as many games, Teresa Benvenuti tucked a shot into the top left corner at 31:16 to give the Tigers their first lead of the contest.
Building on the Princeton momentum early in the second half, Allison Evans doubled the Tiger lead just 1:33 after the restart. Registering an unassisted tally from five yards out, Evans netted her 39th career goal. Having amassed 95 points over her four-year career, the senior is now just five points away from becoming just the ninth player in program history to surpass the 100-point plateau.
With less than three minutes remaining in regulation, the Big Red pulled back within a goal. Freshman Sam McILwrick got the play started with a run up the middle of the field. Playing the ball to the front of the net, the freshman found Mayers, who backhanded a shot into the cage at 67:04 to trim the deficit to 3-2. Holding the Cornell attack at bay, the Princeton backline did not surrender a shot over the final 2:56 to secure a one-goal margin of victory.
The Tigers finished with a 15-7 shot advantage with a 4-1 edge in penalty corners. Gersoff made three saves in the win, while freshman counterpart Kelly Johnson had five stops.
Princeton will close out its regular season on Saturday, Nov. 8 against Penn.