This weekend, No. 16 Princeton field hockey (5–3 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) entered a critical part of their schedule, with matchups against Ivy foe Columbia (2–5 overall, 1–1 Ivy League) and powerhouse No. 2 Northwestern (10–0 overall, 3–0 Big Ten) coming off last weekend’s back-to-back wins against Penn and Rutgers. The weekend came with a Princeton triumph over Columbia — however, the close loss against a top-team in Northwestern could be a troubling sign of things to come for the Princeton squad.
Ivy domination continues in win over Columbia
On Friday, Princeton faced off against Columbia in their second Ivy League game of the season. With the spotlight on standout player junior midfielder Beth Yeager, reigning Ivy League Player of the Week and member of the U.S. national team in Paris, the game promised an exciting display of talent.
The first quarter was tightly contested, as the teams exchanged possession and tested each other’s defenses. Princeton’s defense was spearheaded by first-year midfielder Clem Houlden, senior defender Gracie McGowan, and sophomore defender Ottilie Sykes. Despite early Columbia attempts, the squad maintained solid defense and successfully kept the ball away from senior goalie Robyn Thompson, a two-time Ivy League honorable mention.
Just under five minutes into the game, first-year midfielder Anna Faulstich made a crucial interception for the Tigers, but Columbia’s Lindsey Yu quickly reclaimed the ball and stopped the counterattack. The Tigers, however, swiftly regained control, setting the tone for an intense first quarter.
With both teams settling in, head coach Carla Tagliente, now in her ninth season with the Tigers, saw her squad work to establish their rhythm. After some more back-and-forth action, a pass downfield from Sykes found sophomore forward Lydia Bills, who set up the first shot of the game, but it went wide. Columbia responded with a backhand attempt from Sam Petrucco that deflected off a Princeton stick. Despite the consecutive chances, the first quarter ended in a defensive stalemate, 0–0.
The second quarter featured Tiger defense standing up to the challenge of Columbia’s aggressive plays. A takeaway from junior forward Talia Schenck showed promise as she ran the ball up to goal, but the Lions fought back, with Delfina Gonzalez Lobo stealing it back.
Yeager responded by getting inside and setting up for a shot, but went down, resulting in a penalty corner for the Tigers that they were unable to capitalize on.
With a minute to go, the Lions regained the ball to their side, but an interception by Yeager shut them down to close out the half. The Tigers ended the half with three out of the just four shots of the game.
Despite a number of third quarter penalty shots in the Tigers’ favor, the Orange and Black were unable to sink one in and capitalize. The defensive stalemate continued with few offensive chances, closing out the 3rd quarter 0–0.
However, in the fourth quarter the stars immediately came out for Princeton. Yeager finally broke through Columbia's goalie and reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, Katie Wimmer, in the first 20 seconds, scoring the first and only goal of the game. Despite nice passing control from the Lions offense in the final quarter, the Tigers held their lead to earn a victory 1–0.
Princeton puts up strong fight versus No. 2 Northwestern
Two days later, field hockey returned home to battle against the No. 2 Northwestern Wildcats at Bedford Field. Ultimately, the Tigers couldn’t contain the Wildcats, and they fell one goal short of winning the weekend’s doubleheader by a score of 3–2.
Coming in against the second-best team in the country, Princeton was far from favored to win this matchup, but they held their own in the early moments of the match. Bills got the Tigers off to a good start by scoring only the second goal Northwestern has allowed this entire season. The goal was also Bills’ first career goal, a key personal mark for the forward.
“We came out with a really strong start,” Bills told The Daily Princetonian. “And I think it put a foot in the game [for Princeton].”
Although Northwestern began to gain their footing during the second quarter — holding possession for the majority of the period — Princeton's defense, which has had a strong start to the season with four shutouts, held to shut the Wildcats down. Heading into the half, the score remained 1–0 in favor of the Tigers.
Unfortunately for Princeton, the Northwestern offense finally woke up coming out of the halftime break, and the Wildcats looked every part of a championship-caliber squad. During the third quarter, the Tigers just couldn’t respond to the Wildcat attack. About three minutes into the second half, Northwestern scored their first goal off of a corner from forward Ashley Sessa.
Sessa continued to lead the charge for Northwestern as the Wildcats ran out to a 3–0 run led by her two goals on corners, with forward Olivia Bent-Cole adding on with her own goal scored in transition. There was no offensive action from the Tigers during this quarter, and the Wildcat defense swarmed every ball, making it difficult for Princeton to have many quality possessions.
Yeager, who was on the 2024 Olympic team with Northwestern’s Maddie Zimmer and Sessa, complimented the quality of the Wildcats.
“They're such a great team that we knew that our amount of attack might have been more limited than it would be against other teams,” Yeager told the ‘Prince.’ “So, I think we were focused on capitalizing on the opportunities we did get in the circle, which I think we did do, but I think we need a couple more chances to get the [winning] result.”
In the fourth quarter, the Tigers earned their first corner of the game, a testament to the Wildcats’ suffocating defense. They couldn’t capitalize on the initial play, but the Tigers kept fighting off the rebound. Sophomore midfielder Ella Cashman scored for Princeton to keep the Tigers in the match, making it a one-point game.
And we're not done yet!!! Ella Cashman tucks it in after Grace Schulze plays it towards the goal, and it's 3-2 Northwestern in the fourth. ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/xyFYOtXGUK
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) September 29, 2024
In the final minutes of the contest, the Tigers played with 11 field players and removed senior goalkeeper Robyn Thompson, trying to take advantage of every offensive opportunity they could get and slot in an equalizer. This came to no avail, as Princeton fell just short of a victory in a 3–2 defeat.
“I think we carried ourselves with passion, and I think we were a strong team,” Bills said. “We came out really strong, and I think it gives us a really good start from the next few games.”
Next up, the Tigers will travel to Cornell (3–5, 1–1 Ivy League) this Friday for more in-conference play and then to No. 17 Syracuse (6–3, 1–2 Atlantic Coastal Conference) on Sunday, Oct. 6 for yet another ranked non-conference test.
Emilia Reay is a Sports contributor section at the ‘Prince.’
Francie McKenzie is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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