Field Hockey: Princeton keeps title hopes alive in double OT

“Such a relief, such a relief,” freshman midfielder Sydney Kirby said after the field hockey team’s 3-2 double-overtime win against Columbia on Saturday. The Tigers were tied with Columbia for 55 minutes before Kirby’s goal ended a long game and kept Princeton’s hopes of winning the Ivy League alive.

“This was obviously a frustrating game,” head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said. “We had a lot of shots and a lot of opportunities, and Columbia’s goalkeeper is just fantastic, but I just love how [we] persisted through all that.”

The Tigers’ sense of relief was due not only to the tension of two overtimes, but also to their precarious position in the Ivy League. Columbia came in 2-0 in league play while Princeton was 1-1, meaning that another loss would have all but eliminated them from the hunt for the championship.

“It’s kind of do-or-die in the league right now,” Holmes-Winn said.

Though the game ended 3-2, the Tigers gave themselves numerous chances to score. They attacked the Lions early, often launching long passes downfield to keep the visitors on the defensive.

When Columbia did have the ball, they were still under attack. The sound of sticks colliding was common when Columbia had possession, and the result was that Princeton often took control.

After one such takeaway, sophomore back Amanda Bird brought the ball to Columbia’s end of the field, allowing the Tigers an opportunity on goal. Columbia’s goalkeeper, Christie O’Hara, left the cage to block the ball, leaving the net wide open for sophomore midfielder Kelsey Byrne to give the home team the lead.

Columbia was rarely in control, but it managed to make a run in the moments following a green card on Princeton freshman striker Allison Evans. A big swing by one of their strikers was cut short, but on the next penalty corner the Lions tied it up on a long shot from the top center of the circle that flew through the Tiger defense and over sophomore goalkeeper Christina Maida to find the net.

The half appeared to be ending in a 1-1 tie, but with two minutes to go three Columbia players closed in on Princeton’s circle. Maida left the net to block what looked like a certain goal, but the ensuing penalty corner was practically an instant replay of the one before, and the result was the same. Columbia took the lead.

The Tigers refused to be upstaged. Taking the ball downfield quickly, they earned a penalty corner and Kirby, assisted by Byrne, slapped the ball in from the top of the circle to knot the score at 2-2 as the half ended.

The second half was marked by more aggressive offense from the visitors, but both defenses dug in. Maida made an impressive diving stop, reaching out with her stick and deflecting the ball to stop a Columbia charge less than a minute into the second half. Senior back May-Ying Medalia, the only defender between a Columbia breakaway and Maida, also helped keep the Lions at bay.

Princeton’s offense was active early in the half, blasting four shots at the goal and earning two penalty corners in a seven-minute span. O’Hara, third in the Ivy League in saves, made nine on Saturday, giving up only three goals despite her opponent taking 23 shots.

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“They had a great keeper, and they blocked some of our quality shots,” Kirby said. “Finally we put a few in, but we’re getting better in the attacking third and getting off more shots than we have in the past, so hopefully we can start converting more of those.”

O’Hara stopped everything that came her way and so did Maida, who dove into an oncoming shot to keep the score tied with 11 minutes left in the second.

Columbia had the ball in Princeton’s circle with 45 seconds left but couldn’t get a shot off. The Tigers were racing downfield, slowed down only by a diving Lion defender, when the siren signaled the end of regulation.

In overtime, Kirby looked determined to give the Tigers a sudden-death victory. She led numerous charges downfield, nearly finding the net three times.

In contrast, Columbia entered Princeton’s half of the field just once in the first overtime, and the resulting shot flew wide of the goal. When Princeton failed to score on a penalty corner, the game went into double overtime.

“We were all just ready for that game to end,” Kirby said. Sure enough, just three minutes later, she scored her second goal from the back of the circle, assisted by junior midfielder Charlotte Krause.

With this victory, the Tigers are tied with Columbia, Harvard and Yale for second in the league, having already faced some of the toughest competition.

The trio trails first-place Dartmouth, which handed Princeton its only loss and defeated Penn on the road to remain undefeated in conference play.

The Tigers will return to Class of 1952 Stadium on Friday to face Virginia and again on Sunday to play Wake Forest before facing their next Ivy League opponent, Brown (1-8, 0-3) on Oct. 15.