Field Hockey: Huskies to pose tough NCAA test

With a thrilling double-overtime victory against Rider on Tuesday, the field hockey team earned its fourth straight berth in the NCAA tournament. The Tigers will face No. 4 Connecticut this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in Storrs, Conn.

While Princeton (10-7 overall, 6-1 Ivy League) enters into the game with a four-game win streak, the Huskies (17-2) suffered their second loss this season on Sunday against No. 3 Syracuse in the Big East Tournament final.

“Our win against Rider really energized us into what we call ‘turbo tournament mode,’ ” freshman forward Allison Evans said. “The team couldn’t be more excited to be going to the NCAA Tournament.”

Princeton played the Huskies earlier in the season but lost 3-1. Freshman midfielder Sydney Kirby led the Princeton offense with five of the team’s six shots on goal, while Connecticut had four different players with shots on goal. Princeton was able to match Connecticut’s number of attempts, but the visitors couldn’t convert as many.

“We’ve played them before and know what we have to do to win,” Evans said. “We need more conversion offensively and consistent pressure and defense.”

Connecticut forward Anne Jeute provided the margin of victory with two goals in that game. Forward Chloe Hunnable leads the team in goals with 13, while defender Jestine Angelini has 17 assists and a team-high 35 points.

Princeton was also scheduled to face Connecticut on Oct. 30, but the match was canceled due to the previous day’s snow, because the more-important Ivy League game against Cornell had to be postponed to the afternoon of the UConn game.

After leading the Tigers’ offense with 10 goals, Evans was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year earlier this week. Evans and fellow rookie Kirby shared the team lead in points with 25 each.

“I couldn’t be more honored to receive Rookie of the Year, especially due to the talented girls who have won the award before me,” Evans said. “I’m honored and very excited.”

Junior defender Charlotte Krause had to leave the Rider game in the 63rd minute after she was hit in the head defending a shot. Her condition for Saturday’s game, though, was upgraded from questionable to probable earlier this week, according to the team’s Twitter account.

Connecticut has the sixth-strongest defense in the division, having allowed 1.05 goals per game and shut out its opponents in seven games. Its season has also been filled with strong teams — out of nine games against ranked opponents, Connecticut has lost only two.

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Home-field advantage will work strongly against the Tigers. The Huskies have 10 wins on their home field, while Princeton has a losing record on the road.

If the Tigers win against Connecticut on Saturday, they will move into Sunday’s quarterfinal round, in which they will face the winner of No. 7 Penn State (16-5) and No. 16 Northeastern (14-7). Princeton upset the Nittany Lions 4-3 early in the season.

But first the team will have to pull off an even larger upset against the Huskies. The Tigers, who have won three consecutive opening-round tournament games, are confident about their ability to win their rematch against Connecticut.

“I think, if we work as a team, we have a good chance of beating UConn,” Evans said. “We’ve all had focused practices this week to prepare ourselves.”