Princeton Blanks Stickwomen, 3-0

Ouch.

Double ouch.

For the second time in a week, the Princeton field hockey team clawed Harvard, this time by defeating the Crimson in Saturday's ECAC semifinal game at Ohiri Field.

To pour salt in the Crimson's wounds, the Tigers not only won, they won big, blanking Harvard, 3-0.

Princeton began (9-5 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) the bruising last Saturday when it defeated the Crimson, 2-1, in overtime for Harvard's first league loss of the season. The Tigers them finished it off Saturday with the old one-two punch--denying Harvard (10-5-0 overall, 4-2-0 Ivy League) both its anticipated revenge and a rematch against Ivy champ Brown, which had defeated Ursinius in the earlier semifinal game.

The Tigers faced the Bears in yesterday's ECAC championship game at Ohiri, and it took two overtimes before Brown could claim a 2-1 victory and the ECAC title.

From the start of Saturday's game, Harvard appeared flat, but it managed to keep up with Princeton by spreading the ball out over the field. Senior Co-Captain Erin O'Brien let her veteran experience go to work, changing fields and keeping the Tigers' strong forward line on the run.

It wasn't long before Princeton caught on and began keeping the ball under close control. on a breakaway with 18:01 left in the first half, senior Sue Finney barreled into the circle, drew the ball left then and drove it into the right corner of the net past Crimson goalie Lisa Yadao.

"[Princeton] played as well as they could play," Harvard Coach Sue Caples said. "We just didn't play. For the second game in a row, we were unable to generate much inside the 25-yd. line."

"We have to learn to execute under pressure. We can't give up so easily," Caples added. "They won more on our mistakes than outright on their play. There was no reason for us not to do it today."

Despite a solo 50-yd. drive by Harvard Co-Captain Char Joslin and a strong shot on goal (saved by Princeton goalie Liane Kersey), Harvard's attack couldn't seem to complete the neccessary transitions from offense to defense. The Crimson also did not take advantage of key scoring opportunties--a problem that has haunted Harvard all week during the first Princeton game and the Ivy title game against Brown.

In the last six minutes of the first half, Harvard had three consecutive corners but failed to convert on any of them. Botched stops prevented the Crimson from even taking a shot on the first two. On the third, Joslin managed to get off a beautiful drive straight to goal, but it was stopped cold by Kersey.

"That was so bad," senior Sharon Landau said. "It was the worst game we've ever played. We just weren't together. The whole year, our strongest point was teamwork. We just fell apart. It's so sad to end the season on a loss. but well' get them next year."

In the second half, Princeton's forward line, led by Finney and Junior Stephanie Naticchia, dominated and controlled the game.

After only five minutes had elapsed, sophomore Pam Egan scored when she tipped in a rebound from a shot by Finney that had bounced to the right of the left post, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

"We finally got the spark," Egan said. "Once we get the spark, we're unstoppable."

Princeton's last goal came with 9:04 remaining in the game. After almost a minute of straight pressure on Yadao, Princeton's leading scorer, Naticchia, found herself alone in front of the goal and unleashed a shot right in front of the net.

Harvard had two more penalty corners but was once again unable score, thanks to a combination of offensive mistakes and Princeton's tight defense.

"It's painful to have the season end like this," O'Brien said. "They shut us down. We haven't played on grass in a while--that affected us. We weren't able to carry and receive the ball well."