Princeton Hosts Columbia In Ivy Opener; Heads To No. 3 Northwestern

Friday, September 22

Princeton, N.J.

5:00 PM

Princeton University

Columbia

Photo by: Greg Fiume

Princeton Hosts Columbia In Ivy Opener; Heads To No. 3 Northwestern

September 21, 2023 | Field Hockey

The Princeton field hockey team has itself a pretty busy weekend on the way. The Tigers will play two big games, the first its Ivy League opener at home Friday against Columbia and then, after hopping on a flight out of Philadelphia, will play at No. 3 Northwestern Sunday.

The game Friday will start Princeton's run in search of a possible 27^th Ivy League championship and a spot in the first league tournament, which will determine the Ivy's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The game Sunday will be another chance at a Top 10 win, after last week's win over No. 8 Maryland (who was No. 5 before the Tigers' win last week).

Princeton vs. Columbia
Princeton vs. Northwestern
Five Storylines

The Ivy Opener
Princeton has won 26 Ivy League field hockey championships, which just happens to be more than the rest of the league combined. The Tigers went 7-0 in the league a year ago.

Harvard and Cornell are both 1-0 in the league, while Yale and Columbia are both 0-1. Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn and Brown have yet to play their first league game.

All eight teams are playing Friday, with Columbia at Princeton, Yale at Penn, Dartmouth at Cornell and Brown at Harvard.

This year, for the first time, the league's automatic NCAA tournament bid will be decided in a four-team tournament, held at the field of the No. 1 seed. The Ivy League champion, or champions, will be decided still by the regular season.

Homecoming Queens
Princeton's trip to Northwestern will be a homecoming for two Princeton players, senior Gracie McGowan and junior Clare Brennan, both of whom live in Lake Forest. McGowan, who has started four of the six games, is a graduate of Lake Forest High School, while Brennan, who has played in every game as well, grew up in Illinois, lived in New Jersey during her high school years and now calls Lake Forest home again.

Gracie McGowan on playing close to home: "I'm really excited! Growing up, the Midwest field hockey community was tightknit as there weren't many of us in comparison to the East Coast, so it's a great feeling to be able to compete on a field I've played on since I was a kid and against girls I grew up playing with. I've had a lot of memories there, spanning from Futures practices every Sunday in the springs to tournaments on the day of prom. Of course I'm also excited that my parents won't have to fly to see me play. Also, I can't wait to play against my longtime friend Chloe Relford!"

Clare Brennan on playing close to home:
"I'm so excited for our team to play so close to home in Chicago. I grew up playing field hockey at Lakeside Field, so playing in a college game here with friends and family watching is super special."

Strength of Schedule
Northwestern is ranked third in this week's NFHCA poll, which makes the Wildcats the fifth Top 10 team Princeton will play in its first eight games. The Tigers have defeated No. 8 Maryland while falling to No. 2 North Carolina (in two OT), No. 4 Louisville (by one goal) and No. 7 Rutgers (in OT).

Princeton also has a win over No. 20 Delaware. Princeton, who plays No. 10 Syracuse and No. 15 Harvard later this season, is ineligible to be ranked due to a new rule that requires teams to be at least .500.

No Place Like Road
Princeton is 0-2 at home, 0-2 on a neutral field and 2-0 on the road. In fact, the Tigers have yet to trail in a game on the road at any point or lead in a game at any point at home.

Princeton has lost to Rutgers and UConn at home, Louisville and North Carolina on a neutral field (at Penn) and won at Delaware and Maryland.

Series Histories
Princeton leads the all-time series with Columbia 24-1, including 13-0 at home, with Columbia's win against the Tigers by a 3-2 score in 2014. Princeton defeated Columbia 3-1 last year in New York City to wrap up the 7-0 Ivy run.

Princeton and Northwestern meet for only the third time, and the first two meetings were both in Princeton. The teams played in 1981, a 5-1 Tiger win, and then a year ago on Bedford Field, when Northwestern won 2-1 in overtime.

Other notes

* Princeton's Beth Yeager, who scored the Tigers' goal against Northwestern last year, was named to the 16-player U.S. National Team for the upcoming Pan Am Games, which is part of the Olympic qualifying. Yeager, a two-time first-team All-American, will be back next year at Princeton as a junior.

* Northwestern field hockey strength and conditioning coach Mark Ellis is in his first year in Evanston after having spent three years working at Princeton.