Cashman's OT Goal Takes Down No. 1 Northwestern - Princeton University Athletics

Sunday, October 11

12:00 PM

Princeton University

(8-4)

Northwestern

(13-1)

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Northwestern	0	0	1	0	0	1
Princeton	0	0	0	1	1	2

October 11, 2026 | Field Hockey

Box Score

The Princeton field hockey team was 73 seconds away from a loss and then shortly after that was a little less than six minutes away from something that might have been even worse — a shootout. Throw in that the opponent was unbeaten and top-ranked Northwestern and that this one was a rematch of last year's NCAA Championship Game, and you had yourself some big drama in the pouring rain on Bedford Field Sunday afternoon.

Down a goal as time ran short and facing the top scoring defense team in the country, Princeton tied it with a penalty stroke from Pru Lindsey with 1:13 to go in regulation and then got an Ella Cashman goal with 5:42 to go in the overtime to stun No. 1 Northwestern 2-1.

And Cash with the winner!!! Down goes No. 1!!! https://t.co/vvBxOY9Hjp
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) October 11, 2026

How big was this win? Well, Princeton improved to 8-4, with all four of its losses in shootouts to teams ranked Nos. 2, 4, 7 and 9 this season. Another shootout? Nobody wanted any part of that. This was Princeton's final chance this regular season to get a Top Five win. To pull it out, Princeton had to score twice against a team that had allowed only seven goals all season — in 13 games prior Sunday.

And this was Princeton-Northwestern, a battle of the teams that played in the NCAA final a year ago, when the Wildcats won 2-1 in the second overtime. Ah, but think about this: Northwestern is now 79-4 in its last 83 games, with two of those four losses against Princeton (including in the regular season a year ago).

While Northwestern was ranked No. 1 in scoring defense before the game, Princeton was ranked second. All three goals in the game came off a plays that began on penalty corners, of which Northwestern had 14. At one point in the second quarter, the Wildcats had four in a row, all of which were turned aside. In the third quarter, the visitors had a sequence of five straight, finally cashing in when Ilse Tromp (who had the game-winner in the NCAA final) fed Kerry McCormick, who one-timed it into the cage.

The ball spent much of the fourth quarter in the Princeton end, but Olivia Caponiti two of her six saves on the day on shots from All-American Olivia Bent-Cole to keep it a one goal game. What might have been Princeton's last chance came when Anna Faulstich drew a penalty corner, which turned into a penalty stroke when Molly Nye's rebound shot was stopped by a Northwestern body on its way into the goal. Lindsey stepped up after missing her two most recent stroke attempts this season and calmly tied it up.

Guess what? We're heading to OT. Pru with the equalizer on the stroke with 1:13 left. ?? https://t.co/8dJWXmRE5D https://t.co/Nh5VIqc4fD
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) October 11, 2026

Lindsey almost won it in the first 70 seconds of overtime but Julianna Boon went up to slap it away. The game-winner started when Lindsey drew a corner (Princeton's sixth of the day), and it ended when Lindsey crossed the ball off of a scramble and found Cashman, who tucked it in.