After securing the right to host the field hockey Ivy League Tournament, No. 13 Princeton field hockey (13–4 overall, 7–0 Ivy League) opened up postseason play by dominating Columbia (6–10, 3–4) 4–0. The Tigers have maintained their undefeated record against all league rivals this year and picked up a crucial first-round victory to send them to the Ivy League tournament final against Harvard (14–3, 6–1) on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Princeton previously faced Columbia on Sept. 27 where they pulled out a narrow 1–0 victory — a far cry from Friday’s thrashing.
The first period was back and forth between the Tigers and the Lions. Yet, neither team was able to find a decisive rhythm: Neither team had either a shot, corner, nor save throughout the period. Princeton did have glimmers of momentum, but they couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities and breakaways until the second quarter.
On their performance in the first quarter, senior forward Grace Schulze told The Daily Princetonian that “We as a collective were getting a bit frustrated. We had a lot of ball possessions and ball control, but we weren’t really finishing.”
During the second quarter, the Tigers settled in and controlled the game. Junior forward Talia Schenck brought the intensity with a quick reverse chip in the Lions’ circle but failed to connect on it. Shortly after, Yeager secured the first corner of the game for the Tigers, though it ultimately broke down.
Despite this, Schenck was still able to find Yeager, who rocketed the ball inside of the circle towards the Lions’ goal. It was first-year forward Pru Lindsey who redirected the chaotic ball to Schulze, who got it past Columbia goalie Katie Wimmer up the top left corner of the goal.
Grace from Pru with 24 seconds left and it’s 1–0 Tigers at the break.
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) November 8, 2024
Watch the second half:
👀 ESPN+ https://t.co/Mbp3s5aNuz pic.twitter.com/XRhrl6XnHt
Wimmer was recently honored as the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. The Lion goalie was ranked fourth nationally with 8.13 saves per game heading into the match and had 122 saves heading into Friday’s contest.
“I think being able to get a goal right before the half was definitely a good way to end the period and then start the next half strong,” Schulze said. “But I think it was more just like ‘Right place, right time.’”
The Tigers entered the third quarter with energy, translating into three goals for the hosts. With 10 and a half minutes left in the quarter, sophomore midfielder/defender Ella Cashman buried her fifth goal of the season off of a Tiger corner to make it 2–0. Cashman’s goal was assisted by none other than Yeager.
Yeager was also honored by the Ivy League earlier this week by being named the Offensive Player of the Year after leading the Ivy League with 15 goals scored and 39 total points in the regular season.
Next up, first-year midfielder Molly Nye came down Bedford Field on a breakaway from Lindsey’s pass, delivering the ball to Schenck who scored to put Princeton up 3–0.
...and next was this beauty from Molly to Talia ... 3–0 Tigers pic.twitter.com/1aEQxywQEK
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) November 8, 2024
“I fully thought [Nye] was going to shoot it, and she passed it back to me, which was the most unselfish play,” Schenck said. “I’ve never seen that — 99 percent of players would have shot it for themselves.”
With time winding down in the third quarter, Lindsey added to the Tigers’ offensive run, scoring her first goal of the season to make it 4–0.
...or maybe this one by Pru was more beautiful?
— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) November 8, 2024
It’s 4–0 Tigers end of the third.
👀 ESPN+ https://t.co/Mbp3s5aNuz pic.twitter.com/I6T91PXx4b
“It felt really good,” Lindsey told the ‘Prince’ postgame. “I actually didn’t think I was going to come up with the ball, but you know, you just have to stay calm under pressure.”
Her goal alleviated any stress on the Tigers, as they cruised through the fourth quarter to a convincing 4–0 victory over the Lions. Despite nine saves from Wimmer, the Tigers dominated statistically. They outshot Columbia 18–1 and had a 10–1 advantage on corners.
“Talia posed a lot of problems for them,” Head Coach Carla Tagliente added. “She really pushed tempo up front and challenged them in the back quite a bit. Ella Cashman in the back, in the defensive midfield spot, really fluffed things up quite a bit.”
The Tigers are set to play in the final of the Ivy League Tournament against No. 11 Harvard on Sunday, Nov. 10. The winner of the game will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, while the loser will need to hold on for hopes of an at-large bid that may fail to arrive.
“I think we just need to build on the performance today,” Tagliente said. “If we can get the offense or production like we had today, it’ll be very successful.”
The Tigers will look to gain redemption from last year, when the Crimson scored a late goal in the fourth quarter of the 2023 Ivy League Championship game to end Princeton’s season.
Emilia Reay is a Sports contributor at the ‘Prince.’
Keyan Vojdani is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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