Princeton University Athletics
Friday TigerBlog - Another Busy Weekend
November 14, 2025 | Tiger Blog
It's been such a busy week that TigerBlog is only now able to mention the official in the Indiana-Penn State football game last Saturday who made the correct call on the amazing catch that won the game for the Hoosiers.
The catch was incredible enough. The call might have been better. He was right on top of it, saw the catch and the feet, moved into the right position and threw his arms up for the touchdown.
Replay confirmed he was correct. While the review was ongoing, the ref was probably thinking to himself "why bother?"
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Princeton defeated Harvard 3-1 in the Ivy League men's soccer tournament semifinal last night, advancing to Sunday's final against Cornell. The winner of that game will get the NCAA tournament automatic bid, but it's relatively certain that both teams will reach the tournament when the bids are announced Monday.
Princeton certainly will. The Tigers have spent the entire season either No. 1 or No. 2 in Division I RPI.
The game last night showed you something about this team, though. It has toughness.
Harvard scored in the first five minutes of the game. Okay, teams give up goals, right? Well, not this Princeton team. It hadn't allowed a goal the entire Ivy season, going 7-0-0 with 12 goals for and zero goals against.
How would the team respond to being behind so early? First, goalkeeper Andrew Samuels made a fantastic save on a Harvard drive to keep it at only a one-goal deficit.
And then? The Tigers attacked ferociously, throwing 16 shots up in the first half alone. One of those, off a corner, finally found the back of the net with one minute to go before the half, and then two more followed early in the second.
That's what championship teams do. The game Sunday will be at 11. It won't be the last Princeton game on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium for 2025 though. This could be a fun few weeks.
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Princeton Football is home tomorrow against Yale in the 147th meeting in a series that dates to Nov. 18, 1873. That was a long time ago.
Yale leads the series 80-55-10. Only Lafayette-Lehigh have played more times, and they didn't play for the first time until 1884.
No other teams who continue to play to this day started their series before Princeton and Yale.
Of course, history is important to TigerBlog, who has the word "historian" in his official Princeton title. The present is also important obviously, and this is Week 9 of the Ivy football season for 2025.
Princeton is looking to win out to finish over .500 in the league. Yale is still in the running for the league championship and the automatic NCAA bid, something that would go to the Bulldogs with a win tomorrow and then next week against Harvard.
Congratulations go out to Princeton freshman Josh Robinson, a five-time Ivy Rookie of the Week, who broke the Princeton records for receptions and receiving yards by a freshman. He now has 34 catches and 388 yards as he enters the Yale game.
Kickoff is at noon.
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The NCAA field hockey tournament will continue to play out on Bedford Field this weekend. It began Wednesday with the opening round, when Fairfield defeated Boston University 1-0.
The Stags will now play Princeton, the host school and No. 2 overall seed, today at noon, followed by the game between Liberty and Syracuse. The winners will meet Sunday at 1, and the winner of that game heads to the Final Four at Duke next weekend.
Princeton brings an 11-game winning streak into the NCAA tournament after winning the Ivy tournament a week ago at Harvard, ending the Crimson's 17-game streak in the final by a 2-1 score. Ivy League field hockey had a particularly strong year, with three NCAA teams for the first time ever, with the Tigers, Crimson and Yale.
Want to read more about the game? Click HERE.
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So it's only two games into the Princeton women's basketball season, and you can already define this team as one that can overcome obstacles.
You remember that Princeton spent 14 hours in Newark Airport before heading to Georgia Tech last weekend, arriving 12 hours before a 2 pm tip-off.
What happened? Princeton rallied from seven down after the third quarter to win 67-61.
That was followed by a bus ride back to Princeton, one that required an overnight stay in North Carolina. With only one day to turnaround to play at Villanova, what happened?
Princeton rallied again, this time from 14 down in the third quarter to win 73-68.
Through two games, Princeton has been outscored 107-93 in the first three quarters and has outscored its two opponents 47-22 in the fourth. It's early, but that's a great sign.
Next up? A trip to Maryland Sunday at 1
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The men's basketball team will play at Kansas tomorrow at 2 as part of its 10-game November schedule.
The Tigers opened their season last Saturday at Akron. Between that game and the end of the month, that will add up to 10 games in a 22-day stretch. That's an NBA-type schedule.
Seriously. During that same time, both the Sixers and Knicks play 11 games.
Princeton is 2-1 on the young season. A team with no seniors will take some time to gel, but there is definitely reason to be optimistic about these Tigers.
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It's another busy weekend all around for Princeton Athletics. The complete schedule is HERE.
