Princeton University
Boston College
Princeton Takes On Boston College In NCAA Opener
November 13, 2024 | Field Hockey
PRINCETON (13-5)
vs.
BOSTON COLLEGE (14-6)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Friday, Nov. 15 • 1:30 pm
Ellen Ryan Field at Saint Joseph's University • Merion Station, Pa.
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A - About
The 2024 Princeton field hockey team has 24 players — 15 returnees from last year’s team, seven freshmen, one returnee from the 2022 team (who happened to play in the Summer Olympics this year) and one returnee from the 2022 team who was hurt one minute into Game 2 a year ago (and who happened to be the leading returning goal scorer heading into last season). There are 12 American players and 12 international players (10 from England; one each from Australia and Germany).
B – Boston College
Princeton and Boston College have played only once, in a game played at the University of Maryland in the 1997 NCAA tournament. Princeton won that game 3-2 and then defeated Maryland 4-0 to reach the Final Four. That Maryland team, by the way, featured ACC Freshman of the Year Carla Tagliente.
C – Clem
Freshman Clem Houlden has played more minutes this season than any other field player and has played every minute of every game 13 times. Princeton was led in minutes played by a freshman last year as well, when Ottilie Sykes played every minute of every game.
D – Defense
Princeton’s defense is tied with Harvard, having allowed an Ivy-low 21 goals this year. A year ago Princeton’s opponents averaged 14 shots per game; this year, Princeton’s opponents have averaged 8.8 shots per game. Princeton also ranks 12th in Division I in goals-against (1.14).
E – Ella
Midfielder Ella Cashman was a first-team All-Ivy League selection after being a second-team selection a year ago as a freshman. She also has made the All-Tournament team at the Ivy tournament for the second straight year, making her the only Princeton player to be on the all-tournament team both years. Cashman is second on the team with six goals.
F – Freshmen
Princeton has started at least three freshmen in every game.
G – Goals For, Goals Against
Princeton ranks 35th in Division I in scoring offense (2.11 goals per game); BC ranks 32nd (2.20). Princeton ranks 12th in goals-against (1.14 per game); BC ranks 25th (1.39 per game). The other two teams in the regional are Saint Joseph’s (seventh in goals-against) and Lafayette (eighth in goals-against).
H – Honors
Princeton had eight players honored in the All-Ivy League voting of the league’s head coaches, as well as the coaching staff. The honorees: Beth Yeager, Clem Houlden and Ella Cashman were all first-team selections; Talia Schenck and Robyn Thompson were second-team selections; Grace Schulze, Anna Faulstich and Ottilie Sykes were honorable mention selections. In addition, Yeager was the unanimous Ivy Offensive Player of the Year (for the third time), Schulze was the team’s Academic All-Ivy League selection and the staff of Carla Tagliente, Dina Rizzo, Pattie Gillern and Pat Harris were the Coaching Staff of the Year. Ella Cashman, Beth Yeager and Robyn Thompson were all on the Ivy League All-Tournament team.
I – Ivy League Champion
Princeton went 7-0 and won the Ivy League championship this year. Harvard won the Ivy tournament, which determines only the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Princeton field hockey has won 28 Ivy League championships, which is more than the other seven league teams combined. That is also the most by any women’s team in Ivy history, one better than Harvard women’s squash.
J – Just Three
Princeton has started the same three on defense all season — Clem Houlden, Gracie McGowan and Ottilie Sykes. The last time Princeton had three defenders start every game in a full season was 2016.
K – Kramer
Boston College sophomore Charlotte Kramer went from not playing a minute as a freshman to being the ACC Goalie of the Year this year. Kramer has a .716 save percentage and 1.46 goals-against average.
L – Large, At
Princeton and Boston College both earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament. Both teams lost in the final of their conference tournaments, Princeton to Harvard (2-1 in OT) and Boston College to North Carolina (4-1).
M – Midfield
Princeton has scored 38 goals this season, of which 23 have come from midfielders.
N – NCAA Tournament
Princeton is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA tournament, with an all-time record of 29-25, nine Final Fours, four appearances in the finals and one NCAA title (2012). Princeton, whose 29 wins rank seventh all-time of any school in tournament history, has not gone consecutive years without reaching the NCAA tournament since 1994.
O – Opponents In Common
Princeton and Boston College had five common opponents this season: Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, Northwestern and Louisville. Here is how they matched up:
* Maryland — Princeton won 2-1; BC lost 2-0
* North Carolina — Princeton lost 2-0; BC lost 4-0 and 4-1
* Syracuse — Princeton lost 1-0; BC won 1-0
* Northwestern — Princeton lost 3-2; BC lost 1-0
* Louisville — Princeton and BC both won 1-0
P – Penalty Corners
Princeton is 17 for 119 for the season on penalty corners and is 14 for 81 after starting 3 for 32. Princeton’s opponents are 10 for 81. A year ago, Princeton’s opponents had a 110-86 edge in corners.
Q – Quarterly
Between Princeton and its opponents there have been 59 total goals scored this season. Of those 59 goals, there have only been seven scored in the second quarter (11.9 percent).
R – Robyn
Goalie Robyn Thompson is tied with Susan Kohler for fourth all-time at Princeton in career wins with 39 and is sixth all-time at Princeton is career shutouts with 13.
S – Strength Of Schedule
Princeton is 4-4 against teams in the NCAA tournament field. The Tigers defeated Harvard, Maryland, Delaware and Miami (Ohio) and lost to North Carolina, Northwestern, Syracuse and Harvard.
T – The Head Coaches
Princeton’s Carla Tagliente and BC’s Kelly Doton have coached against each other once before, back in 2015, Tagliente’s last year at UMass and Doton’s first year with the Eagles. BC won that game 3-2. Tagliente and Doton both won NCAA championships as players, Tagliente in 1999 at Maryland (with associate head coach Dina Rizzo as a teammate) and Doton twice at Wake Forest (2002, 2003).
U – University
Princeton has been ranked as the No. 1 academic university in the United States by US News and World Report for the past 14 consecutive years, including in the new rankings that came out for this year.
V – Veterans
Princeton’s senior class features six players: Clare Brennan (F), Aimee Jungfer (M), Gracie McGowan (D), Grace Schulze (F), Robyn Thompson (G), Lily Webb (F). Those six have combined for 352 games played, with 157 starts between them.
W - Wins
Head coach Carla Tagliente and associate head coach Dina Rizzo have 99 wins together at Princeton. Tagliente also had 64 wins as the head coach at UMass before coming to Princeton in 2016.
X - X factor
Beth Yeager has four overtime goals and an overtime assist in her career.
Y – Yeager
Beth Yeager notes:
* Beth Yeager led the Ivy League in goals (15) and points (41) and tied for the league lead in assists (11). Her 41 points were 19 more than any other league player and more than twice as many as every league player except one.
* Beth Yeager has 43 goals and 25 assists for her career; her 111 points rank eighth all-time at Princeton.
* Beth Yeager has 15 goals and 11 assists for the season. Only two other Princeton players have reached double figures in both in the last 20 years: (Clara Roth, Katie Reinprect twice).
* Beth Yeager ranks fifth in Division I in points per game.
* Beth Yeager has at least one point in 16 straight games after not having any points in the first two games this season.
* Beth Yeager started every game in Paris for the United States Olympic team this past summer.
Z – Zhong
Yani Zhong was a first-team All-ACC selection for Boston College this season. Zhong is in her first year of playing field hockey in the U.S.; she is a graduate of the University of Hamburg in Germany.
