Princeton Hosts No. 7 Syracuse In Home Opener

Friday, September 9

Princeton, N.J.

4:00 PM

Princeton University

Syracuse

Gabby Andretta, a first-team All-Ivy selection a year ago, and her Princeton teammates host Syracuse Friday (4).

Photo by: Brian McWalters

September 08, 2022 | Field Hockey

PRINCETON vs. SYRACUSE
Friday, Sept. 9 • 4 pm • Bedford Field

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The Princeton field hockey team opened its season a week ago in North Carolina for the Ivy League-ACC Crossover Challenge, where the Tigers dropped a pair of one-goal games to two of the top five teams in the country. Now back in New Jersey, the next game offers no catchy moniker, though it will be more of the same for the Tigers.

For the third straight time to open the young season, Princeton will be taking on an ACC opponent who sits near the top of the national rankings. In this case, it will be Syracuse, currently the No. 7 team in the country.

The ACC run ends Sunday, when Princeton completes its weekend games with a short trip to Rutgers, a Big Ten school who was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

Princeton vs. Syracuse
Five storylines

High-flying Orange
Syracuse comes into Bedford Field as the No. 1 scoring offense team in the nation, averaging 5.50 goals per game. The Orange are 4-0 and have scored five, six, five and six goals in those games. The first three were shutouts; the fourth was a 6-2 win over another Ivy school, Columbia.

Only once since Carla Tagliente and Dina Rizzo took over the Princeton program in 2016 have the Tigers given up five or more goals in a game, and that was in the 2019 NCAA championship game against North Carolina. Before that, Princeton last allowed five or more in a game in 2011.

Series histories
Princeton leads the all-time series against Syracuse 12-10. The most recent meeting between the teams was in the first round of the 2019 NCAA tournament, a game that Princeton won 5-1. Prior to that, Syracuse had defeated Princeton seven straight times, including a 2-0 Orange win in 2012 that was the Tigers' only loss during their 21-1 run to the NCAA championship.

Of the five goals that Princeton scored in the 2019 NCAA game, three were scored by players who are still on the team (two from Hannah Davey, one from Ali McCarthy).

Princeton leads the all-time series with Rutgers 22-6-1, though Rutgers has won the last three, including a 3-1 win a year ago in Princeton.

Strength of schedule
Princeton has played twice this season, a 4-3 loss to No. 2 North Carolina and a 2-1 loss to No. 5 Louisville. That's two games, two top five opponents.

Syracuse is ranked seventh this week. After that, it's Rutgers, ranked 15^th but the No. 1 overall seed a year ago.

Looking ahead, Princeton will then play five home games in 10 days, the first three of which are against No. 24 Delaware (Sept. 16), No. 1 Northwestern (Sept. 18) and No. 3 Maryland (Sept. 20). That will be followed by the Sept. 23 Ivy opener against Penn and then a non-league game against Lafayette on Sept. 25.

Princeton was 13^th in the preseason and then dropped to 17^th after the one-goal losses to the two top five teams.

Scoring offense
Princeton has scored four goals in two games, and four different players have one each: Sammy Popper, Beth Yeager, Sam Davidson and Ali McCarthy.

A Carla Tagliente/Dina Rizzo Princeton team has never been shut out. In fact, the last time Princeton was shut out was that 2-0 game against Syracuse in 2012.

On the corner
Princeton has taken nine corners this year and turned them into three goals. Princeton scored twice off penalty corners against UNC, and its goal against Louisville came on a rebound by Ali McCarthy after a save on a penalty corner.

Princeton's other goal was a penalty stroke that Sam Davidson converted against UNC.