Princeton Falls To Northwestern In 2OT In NCAA Championship Game

Sunday, November 23

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

(18-4, 6-1)

Northwestern

(22-1, 8-0)

Northwestern

Princeton

Photo by: Brian McWalters

Princeton Falls To Northwestern In 2OT In NCAA Championship Game

November 23, 2025 | Field Hockey

Box Score

The journey was glorious. The ending was harsh. The latter does nothing to take away from the former.

Ilsa Tromp scored off a penalty corner 46 seconds into the second overtime to give Northwestern a thrilling 2-1 victory over Princeton in the NCAA championship game Sunday afternoon at Duke University. Princeton ends its season 18-4 and had its 14-game winning streak ended — barely.

The Wildcats had the better of the play for much of the first half, which ended scorelessly. The Tigers flipped things around in the second haf and finally broke through when Beth Yeager rifled home a drag flick on a penalty corner with 1:31 to go, and suddenly the big prize seemed even closer.

Northwestern, who has now won back-to-back championships, wasn't about to go away quietly, tying it on a penalty corner five minutes into the fourth, when Tromp fed Kate Janssen for a tip-in. The score stayed 1-1 through regulation and one overtime before Tromp's game-winner.

The Wildcats attacked relentlessly all day, throwing 16 shots at a Princeton team that had allowed only 13 in three NCAA games and 7.0 per game for the season, as well as earning 10 penalty corners. The only reason the game went as long as it did was the otherworldly performance of the Tiger defense, especially goalie Olivia Caponiti, who made eight saves, including a one-on-one save in the first OT, in her best performance of the season.

Liv says no again and now has seven saves. We're off to the second 10-minute OT. A goal means the NCAA championship; no goal in 10 more min means a shootout to decide it.

?? https://t.co/c3pRMcmSxi (ESPNU) pic.twitter.com/YSTDGaHnwU
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) November 23, 2025

In front of Caponiti was a team defense that stopped chance after chance outside of the circle. Ultimately, defenders Ottilie Sykes and freshman Gabriella Anderson made the all-tournament team, as did Yeager. Sykes and Anderson were joined by Clem Houlden and Tabby Vaughan, not to mention Ella Cashman, who was playing despite a torn ACL. Yes, a completely torn ACL.

A season that started out 4-3 made it all the way to the final day, and overtime on the final day at that. Princeton's 14 straight wins were the second-most in program history (and the most over the course of one season), and those 14 straight included an Ivy League tournament championship and a pair of wins over Harvard, first in the ILT final and then again in the national semifinal.