Princeton, Saint Joseph's Meet In NCAA Quarterfinals

PRINCETON (14-5)
vs.
SAINT JOSEPH'S (18-3)

NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal Round
Sunday, Nov. 17 • Noon
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 – Before
Princeton and Saint Joseph’s have never before played in either the regular season or postseason. They have played frequently in spring scrimmages. The two schools are separated by 50 miles.

C – Clem
Freshman Clem Houlden has played more minutes this season than any other field player and has played every minute of every game 14 times, including the NCAA opening round win over Boston College. 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 and Saint Joseph’s are both in the top 10 in Division I in goals-against average, and both team shut out their opponents in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Hawks are ranked fifth (1.01 goals per game) while Princeton is tied for eighth (1.08). In terms of total goals allowed, Princeton has given up 21, which ties Harvard for the fifth-fewest in Division I. Saint Joseph’s has allowed one more goal, for 22, while playing two more games than Princeton.

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 – Games
There have been 10 games played to date in the NCAA tournament, including the play-in round. Of those 10 games, there have been eight one-goal games.

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-A10 Challenge
The Princeton-Saint Joseph’s game is one of two of the four NCAA quarterfinals that matches an Ivy League team and an Atlantic 10 team. Harvard and UMass will also play at UConn. The other four teams in the quarterfinals are from the ACC (North Carolina, Virginia, Duke) and Big Ten (Northwestern).

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. All three Princeton defenders played all 60 minutes against Boston College.

K – Korners
Princeton is 18 for 123 for the season on penalty corners and is 15 for 85 after starting 3 for 32. Princeton’s opponents are 10 for 85; a year ago, Princeton’s opponents had a 110-86 edge in corners. Both Princeton and Saint Joseph’s scored their opening round goals on penalty corners.

L – League Champs
Princeton went 7-0 in the Ivy League season to win its 28th championship, which is more than every other league team combined. Harvard won the Ivy League tournament, which gave the Crimson the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but the league recognizes the regular-season winner as its champion.

M – Midfield
Princeton has scored 39 goals this season, of which 24 have come from midfielders.

N – NCAA Tournament
Princeton is making its 26th appearance in the NCAA tournament, with an all-time record of 30-25, nine Final Fours, four appearances in the finals and one NCAA title (2012). Princeton, whose 30 wins rank seventh all-time of any school in tournament history, has not gone consecutive years without reaching the NCAA tournament since 1992 and 1993.

O – Opponents In Common
Princeton and Saint Joseph’s have four common opponents:
* Princeton lost to Penn State 3-2; Saint Joseph’s defeated Penn State 4-1
* Princeton defeated Rutgers 3-2; Saint Joseph’s defeated Rutgers 1-0
* Princeton defeated Penn 3-1; Saint Joseph’s defeated Penn 5-1
* Princeton defeated Harvard 2-1 in OT and lost to Harvard 2-1 in OT; Saint Joseph’s lost to Harvard 2-1 in OT

P – Postseason
Princeton has two current players who have scored in an NCAA tournament game. Grace Schulze had a goal (and assist) in the loss to Syracuse in 2022, and Beth Yeager had the goal in the win over Boston College Friday.

Q – Quarterly
Between Princeton and its opponents there have been 60 total goals scored this season. Of those 60 goals, there have only been seven scored in the second quarter (11.7 percent).

R – Robyn
Goalie Robyn Thompson is fourth all-time at Princeton in career wins with 40 and is sixth all-time at Princeton is career shutouts with 14.

S – Shots
Princeton allowed three shots to Boston College in the first round of the NCAA tournament; Saint Joseph’s allowed only one shot to Lafayette as the two winners combined to outshoot their opponents 20-4. Princeton has allowed an average of 8.5 shots per game this season after allowing 14 per game a year ago. Saint Joseph’s opponents average 5.3 shots per game.

T – The Head Coaches
Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente coached Saint Joseph’s head coach Hannah Prince when Prince played at UMass and then hired Prince as an assistant coach at Princeton, where Prince was on the staff for two seasons.

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 356 games played, with 160 starts between them.

W - Wins
Head coach Carla Tagliente and associate head coach Dina Rizzo have 100 wins together at Princeton. Tagliente also had 57 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 leads the Ivy League in goals (16) and points (43) and tied for the league lead in assists (11). Her 43 points are 19 more than any other league player and more than twice as many as every league player except two.
* Beth Yeager has 44 goals and 25 assists for her career; her 113 points rank eighth all-time at Princeton.
* Beth Yeager is one of eight players in Division I in double figures in goals and assists
* Beth Yeager has 16 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 17 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 – Zinging
Princeton has won eight of its last nine, with only a 2-1 OT loss to Harvard. Saint Joseph’s has won 11 of its last 12, with only a 2-1 OT loss to Harvard as well.

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