No. 10 Princeton Set For 2018 Opening Weekend

Friday, August 31

Philadelphia, Pa.

11:00 AM

Princeton University

North Carolina

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

August 29, 2018 | Field Hockey

PRINCETON, N.J. – The 2018 campaign gets underway for the No. 10 Princeton Tigers as they battle two top-15 programs in Philadelphia.

Princeton opens on Friday (Aug. 31) vs. No. 2 North Carolina (11 a.m.) before another contest vs. No. 14 Wake Forest (11 a.m.) on Sunday (Sept. 2). There will be only live stats available for each game that is at Penn's home field.

Week 1 Notes: No. 2 North Carolina/No. 14 Wake Forest
Game Times	Friday, Aug. 31 - 11 a.m. l Ellen Vagelos Field
	Sunday, Sept. 2 - 11 a.m. l Ellen Vagelos Field
Game Coverage	North Carolina: Live Stats Wake Forest: Live Stats
Twitter	@PUTigers l @GoHeels l @DemonDeacons
All-Time Series	UNC leads Princeton, 9-3 l Princeton leads Wake Forest, 2-1
Last Meeting	Nov. 12, 2017 - No. 4 North Carolina 3, No. 11 Princeton 2 (Recap)
	Sept. 2, 2012 - No. 4 Princeton 4, No. 13 Wake Forest 2 (Recap)
No. 10 Princeton	Roster l Schedule l 2017 Stats l @TigerFH
No. 2 North Carolina	Roster l Schedule l Stats l@UNCFieldHockey
No. 14 Wake Forest	Roster l Schedule l Stats l@WakeHockey
Related Links	Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason Poll Ivy League Preseason Poll

One Last Look at 2017:

The Tigers finished 2017 with a 12-7 record, reaching the NCAA Quarterfinals. It was the second straight season that Princeton won at least 12 games and at least one NCAA Tournament game. Head coach Carla Tagliente's squad won the outright Ivy League championship, its 25th all-time. The last time that Princeton did not play in at least the NCAA Play-In Game was in 2004.
The Tigers had two All-Americans in Maddie Bacskai (first team) and Ryan McCarthy (second team).
Princeton boasted six All-Region players in Bacskai, McCarthy, Julianna Tornetta, MaryKate Neff, Clara Roth and Elise Wong.
McCarthy was selected as the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, Bacskai was the conference's Defensive Player of the Year, Tornetta earned Ivy Co-Rookie of the Year and Carla Tagliente picked up Coach of the Year honors.
Princeton featured nine All-Ivy players in Bacskai (first team), McCarthy (first team), J. Tornetta (first team), Neff (second team), Sophia Tornetta (second team), Wong (second team), Grace Baylis (honorable mention), Nicole Catalino (honorable mention) and Roth (honorable mention).
Princeton had two players in the Ivy League's top 11 in goals per game (McCarthy, Neff) and four in the top 16 in points per game (McCarthy, Roth, J. Tornetta and Neff).

Preparing for the NCAA Tournament:

Princeton has nine of the top 25 teams in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Preseason Coaches' Poll on its schedule.
Tagliente's unit will get an early look at where it stands nationally with its first four contests against teams ranked among the top 14.
The Tigers' schedule starts with No. 2 North Carolina on Aug. 31, followed by No. 14 Wake Forest on Sept. 2. Two days later, Princeton heads to No. 6 Penn State (Sept. 4) before the home opener on Sept. 7 vs. No. 3 Duke.
Princeton will also take on No. 9 Delaware on Sept. 16, No. 4 Maryland on Sept. 18, No. 19 Boston University on Sept. 30, No. 1 UConn on Oct. 7 and No. 15 Harvard on Oct. 20.

Star and Stripes:

The Tigers have two alums on the United States national team in Cat Caro '17 and Kathleen Sharkey '13.
Sharkey has 141 caps for the national squad, highlighted by a fifth place finish in the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also helped the national squad to a bronze medal in the Pan American Cup last summer, leading the tournament in scoring with five goals.
Caro has made 11 appearances for the national team, recording her first cap in January and her first international goal in April.
Maddie Bacskai, MaryKate Neff and Elise Wong were named to the U.S. U-21 team in July while Sophia Tornetta was picked for the developmental squad.

Series History: North Carolina

Princeton is 3-9 all-time to North Carolina including two losses last season.
The Tar Heels have been the Tigers' season-opener in each of the past four years.
Princeton dropped a 2-0 decision to North Carolina to begin 2017 and a heartbreaking 3-2 contest in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
One of Princeton's victories over North Carolina was in the 2012 NCAA Championship game.

Last Meeting: North Carolina – Nov. 12, 2017

Princeton rallied from deficits twice, but the Tar Heels held off the Tigers, 3-2, in the NCAA Quarterfinals.
The Tigers had three corners as the clock expired, but the Tar Heels blocked all four attempts and secured a trip to the NCAA Final Four.

Scouting North Carolina:

The Tar Heels are currently 2-0 on the season, earning victories (5-1) over No. 5 Michigan and No. 20 Iowa (2-1, OT).
Freshman Erin Matson, a member of the U.S. national team, posted two goals and two assists in the squad's two wins, earning ACC Offensive Player of the Week.

Series History: Wake Forest

Princeton is 2-1 in program history against the Demon Deacons, but two teams have not faced off since 2012.
The two teams have battled once in the NCAA Tournament with the Tigers earning a 3-1 victory in the first round during the 2010 season.

Last Meeting: Wake Forest – September 2, 2012

Kathleen Sharkey '13 registered four goals as the Tigers fought back for a 4-2 decision over the No. 13 Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Princeton tallied a 20-12 shot differential on Wake Forest, while the Demon Deacons held a slight advantage on penalty corners, 8-7.

Scouting Wake Forest:

The Demon Deacons are 1-1 on the season, falling to No. 20 Iowa, 2-1, but posting a 3-2 victory over No. 5 Michigan.
Jule Grashoff leads Wake Forest with two goals and one assist. Megan Anderson and Alexis Grippo also have a goal and assist as well.