Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Louisville
Princeton Opens Season in Ivy/ACC Crossover Challenge At Louisville; Gametime Changed To 1 Friday
September 05, 2024 | Field Hockey
PRINCETON (0-0; No. 15 NFHCA)
vs.
LOUISVILLE (1-1, No. 7 NFHCA)
Friday, Sept. 6 • 1 pm (note - this is a change from the original 4 pm start time due to the forecast for thunderstorms in the late afternoon)
Trager Stadium • Louisville, Kent.
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Princeton Field Hockey 2024 • A to Z
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).
B – Beth
Beth Yeager was a first-team All-American and the Ivy League’s Offensive Player of the Year in each of her first two seasons before taking the 2023-24 academic year off from Princeton to compete with the United States national team in Olympic qualifying and then the Olympic Games, where she started every game for the USA. Yeager enters her junior year with 29 goals and 15 assists in 33 career games.
C – Coaches
The 2024 season will be Year 9 for Carla Tagliente and Dina Rizzo as the leaders of the Princeton field hockey program. Pattie Gillern is back for her third season, and they are joined by Pat Harris, a veteran of the United States men’s national team and a professional coach and player in Europe for nearly two decades. Jade Hennessey is in her second year as the athletic trainer for the team.
D – Demanding
Princeton plays its usual brutal non-league schedule, beginning with games against No. 7 Louisville and No. 2 North Carolina at Louisville in the ACC/Ivy Crossover Challenge. The Tigers will play both teams who competed in last year’s NCAA final (UNC and Northwestern), as well as NCAA teams Louisville, Maryland, Rutgers, Miami (Ohio) and Syracuse.
E – Ella
Sophomore Ella Cashman was a second-team All-Ivy League selection, a second-team All-Region selection and an Ivy League all-tournament team selection as a freshman, when she started every game.
F – Five
Princeton returns five players who started every game last year: Ottilie Sykes (D), Ella Cashman (M), Talia Schenck (F), Robyn Thompson (G), Helena Große (D).
G – Graces
Princeton features a Grace (Schulze), a Grace Anne (McCooey) and a Gracie (McGowan).
H – Honored
Princeton returns all three of its players from last season’s Ivy League All-Tournament team: Ella Cashman, Gracie McGowan and Ottilie Sykes.
I – International
Ava Dempsey made her debut for the Welsh national team at a European championship event before the start of fall practice.
J – Juniors
Princeton has six juniors, including Beth Yeager, who took last year off from school to play for the U.S. national team in the Olympics. The six juniors are: Ava Dempsey (M), Helena Große (D), Ella Hampson (M), Grace Anne McCooey (F), Talia Schenck (F) and Yeager (M). These six have combined for 88 games started.
K – Korners
Okay, penalty corners are technically spelled with a “C,” but in the statcrew program, the code is a “K.” Princeton attempted 86 penalty corners last year, compared to 110 for its opponents. A year before, in 2022, Princeton attempted 157 “Ks” to 70 for its opponents.
L – Leaders
Princeton has three captains for 2024: Grace Schulze, Robyn Thompson and Beth Yeager. Schulze and Thompson were also captains a year ago.
M – Motherhood
Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente and associate head coach Dina Rizzo both have two children under the age of five.
N – National rankings
Princeton was ranked 15th in the NFHCA pre-season rankings. The Tigers were also picked second in the Ivy League preseason media poll.
O – Ottilie
Sophomore defender Ottilie Sykes is Princeton’s leading returning goal-scorer from last year, when she was the Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Year and a first-team All-Ivy and All-Region selection.
P – Practice
Princeton had one scrimmage, which came on Aug. 28 at Monmouth in 100 degree heat. The Tigers won the game 3-2, with goals from Talia Schenck, Ella Cashman and Beth Yeager. Princeton began practice on Aug. 23.
Q – Quotable
“We had a very good preseason, and we’re excited to get started. We have great depth this year, which makes the competition for playing time even better, and that will help us as the year moves along. As always, we want to play the toughest schedule we can, and I think we’ve going to challenge ourselves, starting right off the bat with the two games at Louisville.” – Carla Tagliente
R – Roster
Princeton has 24 players, of whom 12 are Americans and 12 are foreign. The countries represented by the 12 foreign players are England (10 players) and Germany and Australia (one each).
S – Schulze
Grace Schulze had six goals and 12 assists for 24 points in 2022, when she was a second-team All-Ivy League selection. Schulze was Princeton’s leading returning scorer for 2023, but her season ended 45 seconds into the second game of the year with a broken collarbone that required surgery and caused her to miss the rest of the year.
T – Titles
Princeton field hockey has won 27 Ivy League championships, which is more than the other seven league teams combined. It’s also tied with Harvard women’s squash for the most Ivy League championships won by any women’s team in any sport.
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 13 consecutive years.
V – Veterans
Princeton’s senior class features six players: Clare Brennan (F), Aimee Jungfer (M), Gracie McGowan (D), Grace Schulze (F), Robyn Thompon (G), Lily Webb (F). Those six have combined for 250 games played, with 99 starts between them.
W - Welcome back
Princeton has five players in the sophomore class: Lydia Bills (F), Olivia Caponiti (G), Ella Cashman (M), Hope Delaney (D), Ottilie Sykes (D). Those five combined to make 40 starts a year ago, of which 34 came from Cashman and Sykes, who both started every game.
X - X factor
Senior goalkeeper Robyn Thompson has made 46 career starts, including all 36 games the last two seasons. She was an All-Ivy League selection each of the last two years.
Y – Youth
Princeton features seven newcomers: Anna Faulstich (M), Clem Houlden (D), Pru Lindsey (F), Izzy Morgan (D), Molly Nye (M), Libby Smith (G), Lilly Wojcik (F).
Z – Zinged
Princeton is a combined 4-19 against its first weekend opponents. One of those four wins, though, was the biggest win in program history — a 3-2 victory over North Carolina in the 2012 NCAA championship game.
