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Players Mentioned
No. 15 Field Hockey to Host No. 2 North Carolina, No. 9 Virginia
September 02, 2015 | Field Hockey
| Week 1 Game Notes: No. 2 North Carolina/No. 9 Virginia |
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| Gametimes | Friday, Sept. 4 - 4 p.m. l Bedford Field |
| Sunday, Sept. 6 - 1 p.m. l Bedford Field | |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats/Webcast |
| @PUTigers l @PUTigers_live l @GoHeels l @VirginiaSports | |
| All-Time Series |
UNC leads Princeton, 5-3 l Virginia leads Princeton, 5-3 |
| Last Meeting | Nov. 18, 2012 - Princeton 3, North Carolina 2 (Box/Recap) |
| Sept. 7, 2014 - Virginia 6, Princeton 4 (Box/Recap) | |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l 2014 Stats l @TigerFH |
| North Carolina |
Roster l Schedule l Stats l @UNCFieldHockey |
| Virginia | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @UVAFieldHockey |
| Related Links | 2015 Princeton Video Season Preview |
THE YEAR THAT WAS
• Princeton finished with an 8-11 overall record in 2014.
• The Tigers' 11 losses tied for the most in program history (1984: 2-11-2).
• Despite posting its first losing season since 2004, Princeton still managed to capture its 10th-consecutive Ivy League title by virtue of its 6-1 ledger against conference opponents. Under Kristen Holmes-Winn, the Orange and Black are 79-5 against the Ivy League.
• Making their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Tigers defeated Monmouth in the NCAA play-in game (W, 4-3) before falling to perennial power Maryland in first round action, 5-1.
• Princeton placed six players on the All-Ivy squad and four student-athletes on the Longstreth/NFHCA All-Region team.
• The Tigers return four players who earned All-Ivy or All-Region honors a year ago. Senior Kate Ferrara garnered second-team All-Ivy and first-team All-Region honors, while Cat Caro secured second-team all-league recognition. Ryan McCarthy picked up honorable mention All-Ivy accolades, while Teresa Benvenuti was named to the NFHCA Mid-Atlantic Region first team.
2014 BY THE NUMBERS
• Playing a challenging schedule that featured seven teams that ranked in the final NFHCA Top-20 poll, Princeton posted a 2-9 non-conference record last season.
• Going 8-3 against unranked opponents, the Tigers were 0-8 against teams slotted in the top-20.
• Finishing the year 5-3 when leading at the half, the Orange and Black were 3-3 when knotted at the intermission. Winless (0-5) when trailing at the break, Princeton was 0-3 in overtime contests a year ago. Of those overtime games, two went into double OT.
• The Tigers played 11 one-goal games last season, going 5-6. Of those six setbacks, three came against ranked opponents. Dropping last year's season opener to Duke (L, 1-0), Princeton also fell by a goal to two-time defending champion UConn (L, 4-3) and national runner-up Syracuse (L, 4-3 – 2ot).
• Posting a 7-3 record in games it scored first, Princeton finished just 1-8 when giving up the first goal. The Tigers lone comeback victory came in a 3-2 decision at Cornell (Nov. 1).
• Playing teams to a 19-19 draw during first half play while holding a 120-95 shot advantage, Princeton struggled in the second half and overtime last season, getting outscored 32-24 and outshot, 147-130.
• Holding a 53-39 edge in penalty corners in the first 35 minutes of games last season, the Tigers' opponents held a 63-49 advantage in the second half and OT.
• Rebounding from the program's worst start (0-4) since 1984, the Tigers ripped off three consecutive wins against Dartmouth, American, and Yale. Reeling from a five-game skid in the middle of the season (which also tied the 1984 squad for the longest in program history), Princeton finished strong, going 4-1 during the remainder of the regular season to claim its 23rd Ivy title and 20th NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Going 1-1 in NCAA play, Princeton moved to 27-18 all-time in tournament action.
CHALLENGING ROAD AHEAD
• Once again squaring off with some of the nation's best, the Tigers' 2015 schedule boasts six games against opponents that earned NCAA Tournament berths last season.
• Six of Princeton's 10 non-conference opponents are ranked in the top-10 of the Penn Monto/NFHCA Preseason Poll.
• Combined, the Tigers' 10 non-conference opponents recorded a 148-63 (.701) mark in 2014.
• Over the course of 2015, Princeton will face preseason No. 1 UConn, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Syracuse, No. 7 Penn State, and No. 9 Virginia.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
• Cat Caro will serve as the squad's lone captain in 2015.
• A second-team All-Ivy honoree she started all 19 of the team's last season and was one of six Tigers with double-digit points (4G, 3A).
• As a rookie, Caro started 16 of her 19 appearances, ranking fourth on the team and ninth in the Ivy League with 22 points (9G, 4A).
• In 38 career games, Caro has notched 33 points on 13 goals and seven assists.
FINISHING STRONG
• Princeton played a large chunk of 2014 without one of its most versatile midfielders, Teresa Benvenuti.
• Without Benvenuti for six games in the middle of the season, the Tigers limped to a 1-5 record during a crucial stretch.
• Returning against Harvard on Oct. 25, Benvenuti helped head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn capture her 150th career victory as Princeton posted a 4-2 record over its final six games.
• Beginning with a goal in a 4-3 loss to two-time defending champion UConn, Benvenuti embarked on a torrid four-game stretch that saw her rack up 12 points on five goals and two assists.
• Recording a goal and an assist in the regular season finale against Penn that helped the Tigers clinch the Ivy crown, Benvenuti added two goals and a helper in the NCAA play-in game against Monmouth.
• In four seasons in Orange and Black, Benvenuti has amassed 61 points in 52 games on 21 goals and 19 assists.
NEXT WOMEN UP
• With the departure of last year's senior class, the Tigers loss nearly 42 percent of their points, with current returnees accounting for just 69 of the 118 points recorded last season.
• Of the squad's 43 goals in 2014, Princeton loses roughly 35 percent of its production, with its returning letterwinners combining for 28 of the team's scores a year ago.
• Enjoying a breakout year, Maddie Copeland ranked second on the team with a career-high eight goals.
• Teresa Benvenuti was tied for third on the squad in points 16 (6G, 4A), while Ryan McCarthy (5G, 2A) and Cat Caro (4G, 3A) had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Hailey Reeves tallied eight points last season on two goals and four helpers.
• Losing Ivy Defensive Player of the Year Sydney Kirby to graduation, the Tigers will need to shore up a backline that allowed a program record 51 goals last season.
• Second-team All-Ivy and first-team All-Region honoree Kate Ferrara, who started all 19 of the squad's games last season should help stabilize the Princeton defense, alongside starting goalkeeper Anya Gersoff.
• Gersoff logged 1209:08 minutes in 17 appearances last season, posting a .678 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against-average.
• In three seasons, Gersoff has posted a 16-15 overall record with a 2.32 GAA and .688 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY: NORTH CAROLINA
• The Tigers are 3-5 all-time against North Carolina.
• The Tar Heels took the inaugural meeting back in 1992, 3-1.
• Dropping each of the first four match-ups against UNC and getting outscored in those contests, 16-4, Princeton earned its first win over the Tar Heels on Oct. 31, 1998, 4-3 (ot).
• With the Tigers having taken three of the last four meetings, this year's showdown is a rematch of the 2012 NCAA Championship game, which Princeton won by a score of 3-2.
LAST MEETING: NORTH CAROLINA
• The Tigers last met UNC on Nov. 18, 2012, defeating the Tar Heels in the NCAA Championship game, 3-2, to secure the program's first-ever national title.
• UNC's Charlotte Craddock opened the scoring with a goal in the 12th minute before Kathleen Sharkey netted the equalizer at 17:01.
• Katie Plyler put the Tar Heels back on top in the 47th minute, but a pair of Allison Evans and Amanda Bird goals at 56:44 and 59:52 gave the Tigers the win.
• Despite the loss, North Carolina finished with a 13-11 shot advantage and a 10-7 edge in penalty corners.
SERIES HISTORY: VIRGINIA
• Princeton is 3-5 all-time against Virginia with a 3-0 home record and 0-5 mark away from Bedford Field.
• The Tigers took the inaugural meeting in 1993, 2-0, with Virginia prevailing the following season, 2-1.
• After a 3-1 Princeton victory in 2003, the Cavaliers reeled off three-straight wins before a 2-1 Tiger triumph in 2011 snapped the streak.
• Following a three-year hiatus, Princeton and Virginia renewed the rivalry last season, with the Cavaliers securing a 6-4 decision in Charlottesville, Va.
LAST MEETING: VIRGINIA
• Despite strong second half, Princeton fell to Virginia in last year's match-up, 6-4.
• Riley Tata, Maddie DeCerbo, and Emilia Tapsall each found the back of the net in the first 27 minutes to give UVA a 3-0 halftime lead.
• After a Caleigh Foust goal early in the second made it 4-0, Sydney Kirby sparked the Princeton comeback with a pair of scores just over 11 minutes apart. Allison Evans then pulled the Orange and Black within one at 53:54.
• Tara Vittese doubled the lead in the 57th minute before Rachel Park answered at 58:13. Lucy Hyams capped off the scoring with a tally at 63:27.
• The Cavaliers finished with a slight 19-18 shot advantage and an 8-5 edge in penalty corners.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
• Ranked second in the nation, North Carolina was picked to win the ACC.
• Helping to lead the Tar Heels are 2015 Preseason All-ACC field hockey selections, Emily Wold and Julia Young.
• UNC enters the Friday's contest with a 2-0 mark after securing a pair of 2-1 victories over No. 14 Michigan and No. 17 Iowa at the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
• Malin Evert and Casey Di Nardo accounted for the Tar Heels' two goals against the Wolverines, while Nina Notman and Emily Wold found the back of the net against the Hawkeyes.
• Shannon Johnson has logged all 140:00 minutes in net, posting a .778 save percentage.
• Through two games, UNC is outshooting opponents 28-11 while holding a 17-6 edge in penalty corners.
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
• Ranked ninth in the country, UVA was picked to finish fourth in the ACC.
• Tara Vittese, Virginia's lone selection to the Preseason All-ACC team, is the league's reigning Player of the Week after tallying two goals and two assists in wins over Drexel and No. 7 Penn State.
• Virginia will carry a 2-0 mark into Rutgers on Friday, Sept. 4 before continuing on to Sunday's match-up against the Tigers on Bedford Field.
• Emilie van Zinnicq Bergmann netted a hat-trick in a 6-0 season-opening win over Drexel, with Greta Ell, Tara Vittese, and Lucy Hyams also getting on the board.
• With Virginia down 3-2 against PSU, Vittese netted the equalizer at 68:37 before Nikki Freeman came up with the game winner at 72:55. Greta Ell and Lucy Hyams had the Cavaliers other two scores.
STARS & STRIPES
• Princeton's Cat Caro and Sophia Tornetta were recently selected to the 2015-16 U-21 Women's National Squad. Last spring, the duo competed with the U-21 team on its Holland Tour.
• Over the summer, Caro, Tornetta, Danielle Duseau, and Ryan McCarthy competed at the Young Women's National Championship at Spooky Nook Sports in Lancaster, Pa. Head Coach Kristen Holmes-Winn was also on hand as one of the competition's head coaches.
• The Tigers' exploits with the USA national team and development programs are just the latest for Princeton field hockey. Alums Kathleen Sharkey, Julia Reinprecht, and Katie Reinprecht currently play for the US senior women's national team.