Field Hockey: 4-1 victory gives team control of Ivy destiny

After a resounding 4-1 rout of Harvard, the field hockey team stands poised to earn its seventh Ivy League title in a row.

Dartmouth’s loss to Columbia on Saturday leaves Princeton, Yale and Columbia in a three-way tie for the championship. Since the Tigers (7-7 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) defeated both Yale and Columbia head-to-head — losing only to the Big Green, which now has two losses — Princeton holds both tiebreakers and fully controls its own destiny for the league title and a chance to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Princeton’s aggressive offensive strategy paid off, as the Tigers shot twice as often as Harvard (8-6, 3-2). Freshman forward Allison Evans had a stellar performance, scoring the first goal in the 20th minute and then scoring again in the 44th by rebounding her own shot and shooting above Harvard goalkeeper Cynthia Tassopoulos into net.

“Our goal in the game,” Evans said, “was to score as many goals as possible in case of a tie for Ivy League champion. We went to the game with a lot of intensity and played really well as a team.”

Evans has consistently led the Tiger offense with 23 points, 10 goals and 24 shots on goal. Her play has improved throughout the season — in her first nine games she scored four goals, but over the past five she has added six. Evans credited her success to an increasingly cohesive team, which has included freshmen and other contributors in new roles.

The Tigers’ aggressive strategy forced more penalty corners from the Harvard defense, as the visitors took three times as many corners as Harvard. In the 28th minute, sophomore defender Amanda Bird added to Princeton’s lead after capitalizing on a penalty corner.

Princeton’s final goal came in the 46th minute when senior forward Rachel Neufeld scored off a rebounded shot — the second time Princeton scored off a rebound. Neufeld is also a sports writer for The Daily Princetonian. In practice this week, the Tigers had focused on opening up more scoring opportunities in the offensive circle.

Neufeld’s goal gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead over the Crimson after 46 minutes. Harvard forward Noel Painter scored off a deflection in the 48th minute, but both teams’ defenses shut the game down for the next 20 minutes.

The Tiger defense had a solid game on Saturday, led by sophomore goalkeeper Christina Maida, who saved five shots. The defense only allowed six shots on goal and conceded only four penalty corners. Princeton has a history of shutting down the Harvard offense — Painter’s score in the second half was the first Harvard goal against Princeton since 2006.

After a string of road games, Princeton will return home this weekend to face Cornell on Saturday and fourth-ranked Connecticut on Sunday.

The rematch game against Connecticut will be a hard fight for the Tigers. At their Oct. 16 game, Connecticut defeated Princeton 3-1. But Princeton only has two conference games left, and both are against opponents that have failed to perform well in their Ivy League games — Cornell and Penn have combined for only two conference wins.

“We can’t take any team lightly,” Evans said. “A loss will ruin our chance of winning the league.”