No. 4 field hockey cruises past No. 17 Rutgers and Penn State for an undefeated weekend

No. 4 Princeton (3–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) racked up two Big Ten wins against No. 17 Rutgers (2–4, 0–0 Big Ten) on Friday and Penn State (3–2, 0–0) on Sunday. Princeton played their home opener against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and won’t be back at Bedford Field until Sept. 29. 

The Battle of New Jersey, the longstanding rivalry between Princeton’s and Rutgers’ field hockey teams, has been hard-fought in recent years. Last year Princeton won with a lone overtime goal from senior midfielder Ella Cashman, and this year the Tigers put it away in regulation 2–0. With this win against Rutgers, Princeton proved itself as a top team in Division 1, especially after their gutting post-regulation loss to No. 5 University of North Carolina (3–3, 0–0 Atlantic Coast Conference) last weekend.

In just under 10 minutes played, junior midfielder Molly Nye found the back of the cage after she redirected a cross from junior midfielder Clem Houlden. Houlden is the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.

“We’re in a great place. I’m happy with our overall defensive presence and structure,” field hockey head coach Carla Tagliente told The Daily Princetonian. “There are patches of play that are electric, I just think we need more consistency and more time together.”

The Tigers and Scarlet Knights both had five attack penalty corner opportunities, none of which resulted in points on the scoreboard. Princeton dominated the game by seeing space well around the circle and making the right passes.

The second goal of the game for the Tigers came from junior forward Pru Lindsey, who is the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week. She put the ball behind the Rutgers goalie from a classic junior midfielder Anna Faulstich feed. It was a give-and-go play, and the girls made the Rutgers players look like cones.

Give. Go. Goal. Pru ➡️ Anna ➡️ Pru. https://t.co/JSFJKHi4NI

— Princeton FH (@TigerFH) September 12, 2026

“As the home team, we wanted to show what we had,” Lindsey said about the team’s efforts against Rutgers. “In the second half, we did that today,” she added. 

The Tigers brought their momentum to State College on Sunday, especially Lindsey. 

She scored twice in the second quarter, the only two goals the Tigers could get against Penn State this Sunday. Penn State notched their goal in the third quarter, and had opportunities to tie the game up in the final minute during their two attack penalty corners, but after the ball got past Princeton once, the Tigers weren’t going to let it happen again. 

Sophomore midfielder Caitlin Thompson was there to break the Nittany Lions’ momentum. The defensive wall in senior Ottilie Sykes, Houlden, and sophomore Gabriella Anderson came in clutch all game too, with Anderson adding a defensive save to her stat column. 

On the opposite end of the turf, both of the Tiger goals came in a 3:13 span. The first was a Lindsey redirect from first-year defender Reese Milone, who has started every game this season so far. The second was from a penalty stroke, the first of the season for Princeton. Cashman, who is making her comeback from a torn ACL last season, earned the stroke call off a corner.

“Being dynamic is what makes this team,” Lindsey said about her team’s offensive strategy. “First-time touches is the way to score.” 

Lindsey currently leads the Tigers with four goals this season after four games played. Now Princeton hits the road again. They take on the University of Pennsylvania (1–2, 0–0 Ivy League) on Friday away in Philadelphia to open up conference play.   

“I think we play better on the road, but we do want to host and we do want to go far,” Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’ “Rutgers is more tactical, Penn State is more athletic and fast,” she added.

No matter the style of play, the Tigers topped both. 

Emilia Reay is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.