Princeton Field Hockey Falls Short in NCAA Title Game

Princeton field hockey came to the NCAA championship game looking for another huge upset, but defending national champion North Carolina denied the ninth-ranked Tigers. With a 6-1 win Nov. 24, the Tar Heels extended their winning streak to 46 games — two full seasons — and brought Princeton’s 13-game streak to an end.

Princeton had upset fourth-ranked Virginia in the semifinals with a 2-1 comeback win, and the Tigers were on the attack early and often against the Tar Heels, putting up an early 1-0 lead.

“We were confident going into the weekend because we like the position of the underdog,” said striker Clara Roth ’21, who stole the ball and passed to striker Emma Street ’21 to score the first goal of the game.

The Tigers’ head start was cut short when midfielder Julianna Tornetta ’21 left the game due to injury, turning the tide in favor of the Tar Heels. North Carolina scored two unanswered goals in the second quarter and kept building its lead after halftime while keeping Princeton’s offense in check.

“Obviously we would have wanted to win, but it’s important to hold our heads high,” Roth said. “Not everyone gets to play in the championship game, and we’ve had such an awesome season.”

The Tigers were a perfect 7-0 in Ivy League play, and four players earned first-team All-Ivy honors: Roth, Tornetta, Hannah Davey ’22, and Sammy Popper ’23. In addition to the win over Virginia, the Princeton pulled off a 2-1 win against second-ranked UConn in the quarterfinals and a 5-1 tournament-opening victory against Syracuse.

“We didn’t want to see the seniors go, so we went into each game in the championship season with the mentality that we wanted to play just one more game together,” Roth said, “and that’s what we did.” By Sophia Cai ’21

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Fall Sports Recaps

FOOTBALL (8-2)

With seven straight wins to open the year, including a homecoming win over Harvard, Princeton football took a 17-game winning streak into its Nov. 9 matchup with fellow-unbeaten Dartmouth. The Big Green proved to be the stronger team this year (aided by some early Tiger miscues), and the following week, Princeton dropped another rivalry game, at home to Yale. The Tigers regained their footing in the season finale, a 28-7 win at Penn, to finish third in the Ivy League behind co-champions Dartmouth and Yale.

Quarterback Kevin Davidson ’20, in his only season as a starter, completed 66.8 percent of his passes, threw for more than 2,500 yards, and tallied 20 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Collin Eaddy ’21 led Princeton’s running backs with 799 yards and 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, two receiving). Linebacker Jeremiah Tyler ’21 was a unanimous All-Ivy selection and was joined on the first team by cornerback Delan Stallworth ’21 and center Alex Deters ’20.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL (17-7)

Princeton had little room for error in the Ivies after dropping its third league match to Cornell, 3-1, Oct. 5. The Tigers responded with 10 straight wins, including an Oct. 13 sweep of rival Yale and a five-set thriller at Cornell Nov. 1. Heading into the final match of the season, Princeton had a one-match lead over Yale in the standings, but the Bulldogs came through with a five-set win in New Haven, tying the Tigers for the league championship. To determine the Ivy’s NCAA Tournament participant, the co-champs played for a third time on Nov. 22 at Dillon Gym. Princeton’s Elena Montgomery ’21 paced her team with 19 kills, helping the Tigers to a 3-1 win and their third NCAA trip in four years. Princeton will face Penn State, the No. 11 seed, Dec. 6.

Cameron Dames ’22 was named Ivy Defensive Player of the Year, and Maggie O’Connell ’20, Jessie Harris ’20, and Clare Lenihan ’21 were selected for the All-Ivy team.

MEN’S SOCCER (10-4-3)

In its second straight 10-win season, Princeton defeated a top-25 team (No. 22 Virginia Tech) and shut out five opponents. But in Ivy play, the Tigers tied three games and lost close matches to Dartmouth and champion Yale, finishing with a 2-2-3 mark in the league. Forward Walker Gillespie ’23 had seven goals in his freshman season,  tying for second among Ivy leaders. Three Princeton players were named first-team All-Ivy: Gillespie, goalkeeper Jacob Schachner ’20, and midfielder Kevin O’Toole ’21.

WOMEN’S SOCCER (8-6-3)

Goalkeeper Natalie Grossi ’20 completed her career with a 1-0 shutout at Penn Nov. 9, the 31st clean sheet of her Princeton career, which is an Ivy record. Princeton finished strong, winning its last three games, but early losses in league play kept the Tigers in the middle of the Ivy pack for most of the year. They placed fifth but extended their streak of winning seasons to eight years. Defender Madison Curry ’23 was Princeton’s first freshman to make the All-Ivy first team since Diana Matheson ’08 in 2004. Courtney O’Brien ’20 led the Tigers in scoring with five goals and three assists.

MEN’S WATER POLO (16-15)

Led by high-scoring freshman Yurian Quinones (49 goals, 28 assists), the Tigers posted a 7-3 record in the Northeast Water Polo Conference, good for second place behind Harvard, which had a 27-0 regular season record, including 10 wins in conference play. In the NWPC tournament, Princeton blew past Brown, 16-10, in the semifinals, setting up a championship match against the Crimson for the third consecutive year. Princeton scored twice early in the second half to take a 6-5 lead and later led 7-6 in the final period. But Harvard scored the game’s final two goals to win 8-7 and earn the league’s NCAA Tournament bid.

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Camren Fischer ’23 was the Tigers’ top runner in this fall’s two most important races: He finished fifth in the Ivy Heptagonal Men’s Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx Nov. 1 (Princeton placed third in a tight team race); and he followed that impressive debut by winning the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet. Fischer was the first Tiger since Donn Cabral ’12 to win the regional. Conor Lundy ’20 finished sixth at the regional and qualified for the NCAA Championships, where he placed 70th. Fischer did not race at the NCAA meet due to injury.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Melia Chittenden ’21, the sixth-place finisher at the Ivy Heptagonals, ran a similarly strong race at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, placing eighth and earning a bid to the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. Chittenden placed 120th in the NCAA meet. As a team, Princeton won an early race at Monmouth, in a field of 14 schools, and finished fourth at Heps. By B.T.