Lions look to end skid at No. 7 Princeton
After two tough losses last weekend—a 2-1 double-overtime setback to Ivy foe Cornell University and a 6-0 bludgeoning at the hands of No. 6 Syracuse—the Columbia field hockey team faces the daunting task of trying to bounce back against No. 7 Princeton in New Jersey.
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The Columbia field hocky team will look to stop a two-game losing streak when it takes on nationally-ranked Princeton today at 6 p.m.
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After two tough losses last weekend—a 2-1 double-overtime setback to Ivy foe Cornell University and a 6-0 bludgeoning at the hands of No. 6 Syracuse—the Columbia field hockey team faces the daunting task of trying to bounce back against No. 7 Princeton in New Jersey. Friday’s game will be the Light Blue’s third conference game of the season.
Unlike the Lions (3-4, 1-1 Ivy), the Tigers (7-1, 2-0 Ivy) will be entering this weekend’s match with positive momentum resulting from a two-game win streak. Their most recent victory was a 5-2 triumph over Ivy rival Yale last Saturday.
In that contest, sophomore midfielder and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Katie Reinprecht led Princeton with a hat trick and an assist. Sophomore striker and former Ivy League Rookie of the Year Kathleen Sharkey also contributed with a goal and two assists.
Sharkey and Reinprecht are currently leading the Tiger offense with 25 and 19 points respectively.
Even though they are a formidable pair, Columbia head coach Jana Woolley insists on focusing on the team as a whole.
“Princeton top to bottom is a very strong team, one of the most talented teams in the country,” Woolley said in an e-mail. “They really do not have just one or two top players—their whole team is a talented bunch.”
Despite the promise of a difficult weekend, the Lions are looking forward to the challenge ahead of them.
“We are going down to Princeton feeling good,” Woolley said on Thursday. “We have had a great week of practice in preparation for tomorrow night. We are going to play our game and concentrate on winning and defending each of our areas of the field. If we do that well, we will be happy.”
After dropping two games, the Light Blue certainly had things to work on in practice. In the game against the Big Red, the Lions had 12 shots on goal but were only able to convert one into a score. Following through on scoring opportunities is something the squad has been working on this week.
“The Cornell game was a battle,” Woolley said. “Both teams had chances to put the ball away, and didn’t. Going into overtime we felt confident in our team to get the job done. We had chances but just came up short on that day ... bottom line is when we get chances to put the ball away, we must do so. Right now we are creating opportunities, but not finishing.”
Friday’s game is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Princeton, N.J.
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