Field Hockey: Princeton routs Brown to reclaim share of lead

Despite 12 saves by Brown goalkeeper Shannon McSweeney, senior striker Rachel Neufeld and freshman striker Allison Evans notched two goals each and led the field hockey team to a 6-0 shutout at Brown on Saturday.

The next day, the Tigers (6-7 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) faced fourth-ranked Connecticut (13-1) and succumbed to the Huskies 3-1.

Princeton field hockey had their strongest offensive game against Brown (3-9, 0-4), converting 19 shots on goal into six goals to top their previous season-high of four goals in an upset of Penn State. The defense also came together to deliver the second shutout game of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Christina Maida made six saves, and the defense gave Brown few chances to take shots.

“Our whole team dominated that game, starting with the defense and our midfield to build up the offense,” freshman striker Allison Evans said. “It was a really solid game on behalf of everyone, and I think the score definitely showed that.”

Princeton’s first goal came early. In the sixth minute the Tigers had a penalty corner, and sophomore midfielder Kelsey Byrne crossed the ball to Neufeld, who scored. The second goal came 10 minutes later when senior midfielder Alyssa Pyros broke downfield and passed to junior midfielder Molly Goodman. Goodman’s shot rebounded to the left to Evans, who shot into the goal behind McSweeney.

Evans and Neufeld finished out the half with the third goal. Evans sprinted downfield when Brown defender Kelsey Grossman checked her. Evans regrouped, blew past Grossman and crossed to Neufeld, who scored down the middle with a backhand shot for a 3-0 halftime lead.

Neufeld is also a sports writer for The Daily Princetonian.

In the second half, junior midfielder Charlotte Krause passed to freshman midfielder Sydney Kirby on the penalty corner. Kirby set up the ball, and sophomore defender Amanda Bird blasted it past McSweeney up the middle. A few minutes later, sophomore striker Allegra Mango crossed to Evans on a breakaway, leading to another Evans score to make it 5-0 Princeton. Freshman midfielder Cassidy Arner ended the last few minutes of the game with a penalty shot above McSweeney and into the net.

On Sunday, Princeton traveled to face Connecticut, which has the third-best defense in the division with an average of only .86 goals allowed per game and six shutouts this season. The Huskies held both Hofstra and Penn State, which are the fifth and eighth highest-scoring offenses, respectively, to a single goal. The only game in which they allowed more than two goals was a 3-1 loss to 13th-ranked Boston College.

“We hung with them really well, though,” Evans said. “We just let up a few goals, and we didn’t convert on our chances. We didn’t score on our corners or a lot of our shots.”

Despite the defensive bulwark of the Huskies, the Tigers matched them shot-for-shot. Kirby led the Princeton offense with five of its six shots on goal and scored Princeton’s lone goal in the 3-1 defeat. The Tigers had two more penalty corner opportunities than their opponent. Yet where Connecticut was able to capitalize on scoring opportunities, Princeton had difficulty.

“We definitely showed that we could play with them,” Evans said. “We definitely can beat them.”

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Princeton has a rematch against Connecticut on Oct. 30 at 1952 Stadium, where the Tigers have a 4-2 record.

This Saturday, Princeton finishes its string of road games in Cambridge. Harvard (7-5, 3-1) is in the five-way tie for first in the Ivy League standings.

“If we don’t win, we have no chance of winning Ivies,” Evans said. “We need another Dartmouth loss, and we need to win out the rest of our Ivy games, and we can win the league.”