Princeton University
Syracuse
No. 11 Princeton Hosts No. 5 Syracuse, Heads To No. 18 Rutgers
September 11, 2025 | Field Hockey
No. 10 PRINCETON (1-1) vs. No. 5 SYRACUSE (4-0)
Friday Sept. 12
Bedford Field • Princeton, N.J.
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A – About
The 2025 Princeton field hockey team has 24 players, 13 from America and 11 internationals, of which 10 are British. The Tigers return eight starters from last year’s team that went 14-6, won the Ivy League championship at a perfect 7-0 and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.
B – Bus
Princeton will make its only bus trip — albeit a very short one — among its first seven games when it travels to Rutgers Sunday (noon). That game was originally set for Bedford Field but was switched to Piscataway, with next year’s game in Princeton, to help balance the schedule.
C – Career Leaders
Princeton’s Beth Yeager is the only player in the top five in career goals per game and career assists per game among active Division I players. Her 46 career goals tie her fourth among active D1 players:
48- Ryleigh Heck UNC/Makenna Webster Ohio State
47 - Tasmin Cookman New Hampshire
46 - Beth Yeager Princeton/Dionne van Aaslum Iowa -
D – Down One
Princeton was ranked 10th in the NFHCA preseason poll. The Tigers then defeated Old Dominion and lost to No. 2 North Carolina 3-2 and dropped to 11th this week.
E – Everton
Princeton junior forward Lydia Bills spent her summer as a human resources intern for English Premier League club Everton FC.
F – For Starters
Princeton has eight players who have started every game of their career: Gabriella Anderson, Ella Cashman, Anna Faulstich, Clem Houlden, Saylor Milone, Ottilie Sykes, Caitlin Thompson, Beth Yeager.
G – Goals
Ella Cashman, Ottilie Sykes and Beth Yeager have scored every Princeton goal for the last five games dating to last season.
H – History
Princeton and Syracuse have played 26 times, and each team has won 13 of those meetings. Syracuse has won three straight. Princeton and Rutgers have played 31 times, and Princeton holds a 23-7-1 lead in the series, including a 3-2 Tiger win last year in Piscataway.
I – In The Lineup
Princeton started three freshmen in each of the first two games: Gabriella Anderson, Saylor Milone and Caitlin Thompson.
J – Just The Numbers
Princeton has six seniors, five juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen.
K – van Kempen
Syracuse grad student Bo van Kempen, who scored the game-winning goal against Princeton with 5:16 left in a 2-1 Orange win at Syracuse last year, is second among active Division I players in career goals per game (1.09).
L – Leaders
Princeton will be led by three captains for the 2025 season: seniors Ella Hampson and Beth Yeager and junior Ella Cashman. Yeager is now the 18th player in program history to be a two-time captain.
M – Minding The Cage
Princeton came into the season with no goalie who had ever started a game. One weekend into 2025, Princeton now has two: Libby Smith, who started against Old Dominion, and Olivia Caponiti, who started against North Carolina.
N – Newbies
Princeton started three freshmen in each of the first two games: Gabriella Anderson, Saylor Milone and Caitlin Thompson.
O – Offense
Syracuse ranks fourth in Division I in scoring offense (5.65 per game). Syracuse has scored 24 goals — 15 of which came in a season-opening 15-0 win over Lock Haven.
P – Preseason Poll
Princeton was named the 2025 favorite in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll — barely. Princeton and Harvard each received eight first-place votes, and the Tigers edged the Crimson 120-118 in total points. Princeton’s Ivy League championship a year ago was the 28th in program history, which is tied with Harvard women’s squash for the most by any Ivy women’s team in any sport in league history.
Q – Quite A Stat
The visiting team has won the five games between Princeton and Rutgers.
R – Rankings
Princeton has already played No. 2 North Carolina (a 3-2 Tar Heel win). This weekend’s opponents are No. 5 Syracuse and No. 18 Rutgers, with upcoming games against No. 16 UConn, No. 8 Harvard, No. 10 Maryland, No. 1 Northwestern, No. 19 Monmouth and No. 17 Penn State.
S – Sykes
Ottilie Sykes, who scored a goal against Old Dominion, is the only Princeton player to have played every minute of the first two games.
T – Talia
Talia Schenck ranks second on the team in career goals with 10.
U – USA
Princeton was well-represented with USA Field Hockey this past summer. Beth Yeager, a 2024 Olympian, won a silver medal at the Pan Am Cup in Uruguay, scoring four goals in the tournament. Talia Schenck also won silver and also scored four goals, at the Junior Pan Am Games in Paraguay. Assistant coach Pat Harris was a silver medalist with the USA men’s team at the Pan Am Cup.
V – Vietnam
Princeton’s Clem Houlden and Molly Nye spent the summer in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam as part of the Coach For College program. Houlden taught biology and coached volleyball to middle schoolers, while Nye taught English and coached volleyball at a different middle school.
W – Woj
Sophomore Lilly Wojcik had an assist in each of the first two games for her first two career points.
X – X-Factor
Princeton has six players on the NFHCA preseason Watchlist: Ella Cashman, Anna Faulstich, Clem Houlden, Talia Schenck, Ottilie Sykes, Beth Yeager.
Y – Yeager
Beth Yeager is a three-time first-team All-American selection; no Ivy League player has ever been a four-time first-team All-American. She’s also a three-time Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year.
Z – Zinger
Princeton has not failed to reach the NCAA tournament in consecutive years since 1992-93. That streak will continue through this year, as the Tigers reached the NCAA quarterfinals a year ago.
