No. 10 Princeton Edged By No. 9 Louisville 2-1 In Opener

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Field Hockey

October 3, 5PM

at Yale

New Haven, Conn.

Field Hockey

October 11, 12PM

at Dartmouth

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October 13, 3PM

at Northwestern

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October 17, 4PM

vs Cornell

Princeton, N.J.

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October 19, 12PM

vs Monmouth

Princeton, N.J.

There are good clangs and there are bad clangs if you shoot a field hockey ball. The good clang is the one of the ball as it smacks against the wood in the back of the cage. The bad clang is the one Bridget Murphy heard late in the third quarter of No. 10 Princeton's season-opener against No. 9 Louisville Friday on the first day of the ACC/Ivy Crossover.

That clang was the sound of the ball as it hit the metal. It's an excruciating sound, and in a game where the teams were separated by one in the rankings, it also left them separated by one on the scoreboard.

Louisville defeated Princeton 2-1, with all three goals scored in the first half. Murphy came oh-so-close to tying it in the third, when she took the ball one step inside the circle and rifled one that just caught the near post.

WHAT THE BOX SCORE TELLS YOU
Louisville scored first, on a penalty corner 11 minutes into the game, before the Tigers tied it when Talia Schenck redirected a cross from Liz Agatucci that just made it across the line. Louisville scored 15 seconds into the second quarter, and neither team would score again.

Robyn Thompson made four big saves for Princeton to keep it a one-goal game. The Tigers were outshot 13-7 and had two corners to six for the Cards.

WHAT THE BOX SCORE DOESN'T TELL YOU
Princeton started just three players who started in last year's NCAA tournament after graduating eight seniors and losing first-team All-American Beth Yeager for the year to the U.S. national team. Despite that, the score of the game against Louisville was the same as it was last year, when the Tigers hosted the Cards on Day 2 of the ACC/Ivy Crossover.

Louisville, by the way, came into the event 2-0, including a win over No. 2 Northwestern.

PLAY OF THE DAY
Talia Schenck's goal was made by Liz Agatucci, who dribbled the ball on the left side and into the circle. Once trapped by the Louisville defense, she sent it into a scrum in the middle, where Schenck was just able to get enough on it to have it sneak into the goal.

It was the first career assists for Agatucci.

HONORABLE MENTION PLAY OF THE DAY
Freshman Ottilie Sykes played the center back position that Gabby Andretta had started at for every game the last four seasons. Sykes, who played the entire game, took a feed back toward the Tiger goal in the circle late in the third quarter and, pressured by the Cards' offense, dribbled through three players and then threaded a pass to midfield to get the ball out of danger.

UP NEXT
Princeton will play top-ranked and defending NCAA champion North Carolina Sunday at 10:30 on Day 2 of the event. Louisville will play the host Penn.

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