The field hockey team (2-6, 1-2 Ivy) will look to halt its current five game losing streak tomorrow as it heads to Princeton, N.J. to face off against the defending Ivy league champion Princeton Tigers (5-2, 3-0 Ivy). The match up is the first part of a weekend doubleheader, as on Sunday the Red will travel to Bethlehem, Penn. to take on Lehigh Mountain Hawks (5-5). This marks the third consecutive weekend that the Red will be on the road.
The last two weekends found the Red inconsistent on both sides of the field with the offense having trouble finding the back of the net, while the defense has had problems adjusting to the new defensive schemes implemented by interim head coach Phillip Sykes. Most of all the Red has been unable to catch any breaks.
Last weekend was particularly frustrating for Cornell, as it watched a two-goal lead produced by senior tri-captain Karleigh Burns and sophomore Blair Corcoran disappear in the second half against Ivy rival Yale. The Bulldogs scored three unanswered goals to win the league contest 3-2. The next day the Red played evenly with Rhode Island, but still fell 1-0 for its fifth straight loss.
“It has been tough to get our spirits back after losses last weekend,” said senior tri-captain Kimmy Gardner. “Practices went really well this week. Everyone felt good out there. Hopefully we can come out fighting and do something against Princeton.”
Last year Cornell had a strong contest against the Tigers, scoring the most goals of any Ivy team against them. However, Princeton remains formidable.
Princeton comes into the match ranked 10th in the nation. Last weekend it trounced Columbia 5-1 and nearly knocked off No. 3 Maryland in an overtime thriller. The Tigers bring with them a 27 Ivy League game winning streak. Cornell has not defeated the Tigers since 1990.
The Princeton offense has multiple weapons that the Red’s backs will be pressed to shut down. Claire Miller and Lizzie Black are tied for the team lead in points with 11. Three other team members, Natalie Martirosian, Lauren Ehrlichman, and Lauren Quinn are also averaging more than 1 point per game.
Defensively the Tigers are solid in net with Allison Nemeth and Juliana Simon splitting time. Simon was awarded the Ivy League Rookie of the Week award for her 10-save performance against Maryland. This will make it a difficult task for the Red’s offense to start up again.
Lehigh also is coming into Sunday’s game riding a two-game winning streak with victories over Columbia (2-1) and Longwood (4-1) last weekend. They have four wins in their last five games and are 4-2 at home. Blaire Goodwin leads the attack this season with seven goals and 17 points. Jeanine Hoff, who is 3-2 on the season, will likely start in net for the Mountain Hawks.
“Both should be good games and hopefully we can come out on top,” said Gardner.
Game time for the Red is 1 p.m. tomorrow against Princeton and 1 p.m. Sunday against Lehigh.
Archived article by Chris Callanan