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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton's Hannah Davey and UNC's Erin Matson battle in the 2021 game between the teams.
Photo by: Sideline Photos, LLC
No. 13 Princeton Opens At No. 2 North Carolina
September 01, 2022 | Field Hockey
The 2021 Princeton field hockey season uncharacteristically ended the first week of November. As the 2022 season closes in on its start, the returnees from that team — which had no seniors — are fueled by their desire to once again play much later into the month, a task that will be aided by the addition of six newcomers.
The months of September and October will certainly be challenging. Princeton plays seven of the teams ranked in the preseason Top 10, and it begins this weekend with games against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 9 Louisville, both of which will be played in Chapel Hill. There will be four teams involved, as Penn and Louisville play Friday at 2:30 followed by Princeton-UNC at 5, and then Princeton and Louisville play at 11 Sunday, followed at 2 by UNC-Penn.
Speaking of Chapel Hill, getting there proved to be a bit difficult for the Tigers, whose original flight from Newark to Raleigh Durham was canceled. Princeton rebooked onto a flight from Philadelphia, and it turned out to be the same flight that Penn was taking. That flight in turn was delayed four hours or so, and the teams spent that time together in the gate area. Because the flight arrived after Penn's scheduled practice time, the two teams shared the field for their respective practices.
Princeton vs. North Carolina, Friday, Sept. 2, 5 pm
Live Stats
ACCNX
Princeton vs. Louisville, Sunday, Sept. 4, 11 am
Live Stats
ACCNX
Five storylines
Opening weekend
Princeton opens its season against two teams who are both 2-0. North Carolina, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, defeated No. 3 Michigan 5-1 and No. 5 Iowa 3-2 in overtime. Louisville defeated No. 11 Penn State and unranked Bucknell, both by scores of 2-1.
Princeton scrimmaged St. Joe's, ranked 16th, last week.
North Carolina leads the all-time series with Princeton 13-3. The teams are also 1-1 against each other in NCAA championship games, as Princeton won 3-2 in 2012 and UNC won 6-1 in 2019.
Princeton and Louisville have played twice, a 3-0 Princeton win in 2010 and a 3-2 overtime win for Louisville a year ago in Princeton.
The games will be a homecoming for Princeton junior Liz Agatucci, a Chapel Hill native who attended East Chapel High School, which is approximately seven miles from the UNC campus.
Preseason rankings
Princeton is ranked 13th in the Division I preseason poll. The Tigers were also picked to finish second in the Ivy League preseason poll, behind Harvard, who is ranked seventh nationally.
Princeton has games this season against No. 1 Northwestern, No. 2 UNC, No. 4 Maryland, No. 7 Harvard, No. 8 Rutgers, No. 9 Louisville and No. 10 Syracuse, as well as No. 15 UConn and No. 17 Delaware.
2021 in review
Princeton went 10-7 in 2021, including 6-1 in the Ivy League. The lone league loss was in a shootout to Harvard, who took the league title and automatic NCAA bid in the process.
Princeton had overtime losses to Louisville, Maryland and Monmouth that kept the Tigers from getting an at-large bid to the tournament. On the other hand, Princeton did not have a senior on that team, so the Tigers return every player except for one (goalie Isla Okkinga left the team).
Princeton has a new assistant coach, former UConn goalie and NCAA champion Sarah Mansfield. The spot on the staff opened when Caitlyn Van Sickle left Princeton — for North Carolina.
History lesson
When Princeton did not reach the NCAA tournament a year ago, it marked the first time since 2004 that the Tigers did not play in the postseason. Head coach Carla Tagliente and associate head coach Dina Rizzo are in their sixth year with the Tigers, and they have been to three Final Fours and one NCAA championship game.
Princeton field hockey has won 26 Ivy League championships all-time, the most league titles for any Princeton women's team. No other Ivy team has reached double figures in Ivy titles.
Returnees
Princeton returns first-team All-American Beth Yeager, who set a Princeton freshman goal-scoring record with 16 goals last year, despite missing the final three games of the season due to injury. Yeager has made 17 appearances for the U.S. national team.
Princeton had four first-team All-Ivy selections a year ago, with Yeager, midfielder Hannah Davey, forward Ali McCarthy and defender Gabby Andretta. Midfielder Sammy Popper was named second-team All-Ivy.
The months of September and October will certainly be challenging. Princeton plays seven of the teams ranked in the preseason Top 10, and it begins this weekend with games against No. 2 North Carolina and No. 9 Louisville, both of which will be played in Chapel Hill. There will be four teams involved, as Penn and Louisville play Friday at 2:30 followed by Princeton-UNC at 5, and then Princeton and Louisville play at 11 Sunday, followed at 2 by UNC-Penn.
Speaking of Chapel Hill, getting there proved to be a bit difficult for the Tigers, whose original flight from Newark to Raleigh Durham was canceled. Princeton rebooked onto a flight from Philadelphia, and it turned out to be the same flight that Penn was taking. That flight in turn was delayed four hours or so, and the teams spent that time together in the gate area. Because the flight arrived after Penn's scheduled practice time, the two teams shared the field for their respective practices.
Princeton vs. North Carolina, Friday, Sept. 2, 5 pm
Live Stats
ACCNX
Princeton vs. Louisville, Sunday, Sept. 4, 11 am
Live Stats
ACCNX
Five storylines
Opening weekend
Princeton opens its season against two teams who are both 2-0. North Carolina, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, defeated No. 3 Michigan 5-1 and No. 5 Iowa 3-2 in overtime. Louisville defeated No. 11 Penn State and unranked Bucknell, both by scores of 2-1.
Princeton scrimmaged St. Joe's, ranked 16th, last week.
North Carolina leads the all-time series with Princeton 13-3. The teams are also 1-1 against each other in NCAA championship games, as Princeton won 3-2 in 2012 and UNC won 6-1 in 2019.
Princeton and Louisville have played twice, a 3-0 Princeton win in 2010 and a 3-2 overtime win for Louisville a year ago in Princeton.
The games will be a homecoming for Princeton junior Liz Agatucci, a Chapel Hill native who attended East Chapel High School, which is approximately seven miles from the UNC campus.
Preseason rankings
Princeton is ranked 13th in the Division I preseason poll. The Tigers were also picked to finish second in the Ivy League preseason poll, behind Harvard, who is ranked seventh nationally.
Princeton has games this season against No. 1 Northwestern, No. 2 UNC, No. 4 Maryland, No. 7 Harvard, No. 8 Rutgers, No. 9 Louisville and No. 10 Syracuse, as well as No. 15 UConn and No. 17 Delaware.
2021 in review
Princeton went 10-7 in 2021, including 6-1 in the Ivy League. The lone league loss was in a shootout to Harvard, who took the league title and automatic NCAA bid in the process.
Princeton had overtime losses to Louisville, Maryland and Monmouth that kept the Tigers from getting an at-large bid to the tournament. On the other hand, Princeton did not have a senior on that team, so the Tigers return every player except for one (goalie Isla Okkinga left the team).
Princeton has a new assistant coach, former UConn goalie and NCAA champion Sarah Mansfield. The spot on the staff opened when Caitlyn Van Sickle left Princeton — for North Carolina.
History lesson
When Princeton did not reach the NCAA tournament a year ago, it marked the first time since 2004 that the Tigers did not play in the postseason. Head coach Carla Tagliente and associate head coach Dina Rizzo are in their sixth year with the Tigers, and they have been to three Final Fours and one NCAA championship game.
Princeton field hockey has won 26 Ivy League championships all-time, the most league titles for any Princeton women's team. No other Ivy team has reached double figures in Ivy titles.
Returnees
Princeton returns first-team All-American Beth Yeager, who set a Princeton freshman goal-scoring record with 16 goals last year, despite missing the final three games of the season due to injury. Yeager has made 17 appearances for the U.S. national team.
Princeton had four first-team All-Ivy selections a year ago, with Yeager, midfielder Hannah Davey, forward Ali McCarthy and defender Gabby Andretta. Midfielder Sammy Popper was named second-team All-Ivy.
Players Mentioned
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