Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Field Hockey Draws Monmouth in NCAA Play-In Game
November 10, 2014 | Field Hockey
| NCAA PLAY-IN: Princeton vs. Monmouth Game Notes |
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| Gametime | Wednesday, Nov. 12 (1 p.m.) l So Sweet A Cat Field |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats l Webstream |
| @PUTigers l @PUTigers_live l @MUHawks | |
| All-Time Series |
Princeton leads Monmouth, 2-0 |
| Last Meeting | Oct. 30, 2007 - Princeton 9, Monmouth 1 (Box/Recap) |
| Records |
Princeton (7-10, 6-1 Ivy) l Monmouth (13-7, 4-1 MAAC) |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @TigerFH |
| Monmouth |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @MonmouthFH |
| Last Weekend | Tigers Win 23rd Ivy Title l Video Highlights vs. Penn |
| Related Links | NCAA Digital Program l Interactive Bracket l Game Notes (PDF) |
COMPLETE BRACKET
PRINCETON NCAA PLAY-IN GAME NOTES (PDF)
PRINCETON, N.J. – Capturing its 23rd Ivy League title with a 4-3 victory over the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, the Princeton University field hockey team earned the conference's automatic berth into the 2014 NCAA Division I Championship.
Making their 10th-consecutive tournament appearance (19th overall), the Tigers open championship play on Wednesday, Nov. 12 with a play-in game at MAAC champion Monmouth University (13-7, 4-1 MAAC). Princeton is 2-0 all-time against the Hawks, having earned a pair of 8-1 and 9-1 decisions in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Last Time Out
Princeton closed out its regular season slate with a 4-3 victory over Penn last Saturday on Bedford Field. Hailey Reeves opened the scoring with a goal off of a penalty corner at 9:36. After two unanswered Quaker goals, Teresa Benvenuti netted her fourth of the season with just seven seconds left in the half to knots things at 2-2 heading into the intermission. Allison Evans broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, but Penn battled back, coming up with the equalizer on a penalty stroke at 54:54. With less than 10 minutes to go, Maddie Copeland put the home team ahead for good, notching the first game winner of her career at 61:04. Princeton finished with a 10-9 shot advantage and an 8-4 edge in penalty corners.
Top of the Mountain
With a win over Penn on Saturday and Harvard's upset victory over Columbia, Princeton laid claim to its 10th-consecutive (23rd overall) Ivy League championship. Going 6-1 in conference play, the Orange and Black have now earned at least a share of the league title in 20 of the last 21 seasons. Under Kristen Holmes-Winn, the Tigers are 79-5 against their Ivy competitors, with their only losses coming to Dartmouth (2004, 2011), Cornell (2007), Penn (2004) and Columbia (2014).
Big Dance
Wednesday's NCAA play-in game at Monmouth in West Long Branch, N.J. will mark the Tigers' 10th-consecutive tournament appearance. In 18 previous NCAA Tournament berths, Princeton has posted a 26-17 overall record. Winning the program's lone national championship in 2012, the Tigers have advanced to the national quarterfinals on 13 occasions and have made four trips to the national semifinals. Princeton has played in five previous NCAA play-in games going 4-1 in those contests. Defeating Colgate in the 1996 play-in (7-1), the Tigers made a run all the way to the national championship game before falling to North Carolina. After dropping the 2007 play-in to UMass (2-1), the Tigers secured play-in victories against Stanford in 2008, Rider in 2011 and Lafayette in 2012.
Within Reach
With a goal against Penn last Saturday, Allison Evans stands just three points shy of becoming the ninth player in program history to reach the 100-point plateau. Upping her career point total to 97, she is currently ninth on the school's scoring list. In four seasons in Orange and Black, Evans has amassed 40 goals and 17 assists. Her combined 57 goals and assists currently rank 10th all-time.
Down to the Wire
Ten of Princeton's 17 games this season have been decided by just one goal, with the Orange and Black posting a 4-6 mark. The Tigers have also played three overtime games, with a pair of contests needing a second extra session. Navigating a particularly grueling schedule in 2014, Princeton has faced seven opponents who were ranked in the NFHCA top-20 poll. Of those seven games, three have been decided by just one goal. Other than an 8-1 loss to Maryland, the Tigers have held a lead or been within a goal during the second half of every other match-up against a ranked team.
Leading the Way
Leading the Tigers in points, Sydney Kirby dished out a pair of assists last Saturday to help the Orange and Black to a 4-3 triumph over Penn. Setting up Hailey Reeves' game-opening tally, Kirby later assisted on Teresa Benvenuti's score late in the first half. Collecting six goals and six helpers in her 17 appearances this season, Kirby upped her career point total to 73. Selected to play in the 2014 Victory Sports Tours/NFHCA Division I Senior Game scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22 at the University of Maryland, Kirby is just one of four Ivy League student-athletes to be invited, joining Penn's Emily Corcoran, Dartmouth's Ali Savage and Columbia's Lauren Skudalski.
Coming Up Big
Junior striker Maddie Copeland picked the perfect time to net her first career game winner, registering the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute of Princeton's 4-3 triumph over Penn to help the Tigers claim a 10th-consecutive conference crown. Tallying a career-high eight goals this season, she has factored into the scoring in six of the team's games, matching a personal-best with a pair of goals against both Dartmouth and Syracuse.
Series History
Princeton holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series against in-state rival Monmouth. Taking the inaugural meeting in 2006 by a score of 8-1, the Tigers prevailed in the rematch the following season, 9-1.
When Last We Met
Scoring early and often, Princeton cruised to a 9-1 victory over Monmouth in 2007. With the game tied 1-1 after a Hawk goal at 14:28, the Tigers pulled back in front with another tally just 29 seconds later. Tacking on two more goals at 18:23 and 21:54, Princeton took a 4-1 lead into the intermission. Padding its cushion with another marker at 55:23, the Tigers erupted for three more goals over a span of 4:30 before closing out the scoring with their ninth and final tally at 62:09. The Orange and Black finished with a decisive 32-5 shot advantage and a 10-3 edge in penalty corners.
Scouting Monmouth
Carrying a six-game win streak into Wednesday's showdown with the Tigers, Monmouth has won nine of their last 10 games. Capturing the MAAC title with a decisive 6-1 victory over Rider on Sunday, the Hawks are making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Amanda Schoenfeld and Trish O'Dwyer combined for 14 points in the win over the Broncs, with Schoenfeld turning in her first career hat trick en route to All-Championship Team Most Valuable Player honors. Posting her third seven-point game of the year, O'Dwyer became the program's all-time points leader. The senior joined Schoenfeld, and freshmen Julie Laszio and Casey Hanna on the All-Tournament team.
Monmouth landed eight players on the all-conference squad led by O'Dwyer who earned MAAC Player and Offensive Player of the Year accolades. Hanna was the league's Defensive Player of the Year, while Meg Donahue picked up Rookie of the Year laurels. In her eighth season, Carli Figlio was named the Coach of the Year.
Entering the weekend ranked amongst the nation's leaders in several categories, the Hawks are 19th in assists (2.11) and goals per game (2.78), seventh in defensive saves (11), third in penalty corners per game (8.67) and 18th in scoring average (2.74).
O'Dwyer currently leads the team in points (51), racking up 18 goals and 15 assists. Schoenfeld has collected 40 points on 16 goals and eight helpers while Donahue has 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. Alyssa Ercolina is the only other Hawk to amass double-digit points with 15 (5G, 5A).
Seeing the majority of time in net, Christen Piersanti has posted a 12-5 record in 17 appearances. Logging 1155:14 minutes, Piersanti has recorded a 1.76 goals-against average and a 0.718 save percentage.