Urgency raised for field hockey
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Must-win declarations are usually saved for end of the season when a team sits on the brink of a playoff or tournament bid.
The Princeton University field hockey team isn’t going to wait that long. The Tigers open their season on Saturday at Richmond, and they’re calling it a must-win game. They’re calling every game this season a must-win.
”Every game does matter,” said PU head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn. “You never know how it shakes out at the end of the year. You don’t want to be in a position where one game makes or breaks you. That will take not only winning every game in the (Ivy) League, but beating those other teams.”
Last season the Tigers went 13-5, their most wins in Holmes-Winn’s five seasons at the helm. They won their final nine regular-season games, but still were forced into the NCAA play-in game, which they lost to Massachusetts. Perhaps another win would have helped them into the NCAA Tournament without a play-in game.
”You look back on the season and we were close to making the tournament irregardless if we lost,” Holmes-Winn said. “We were close to getting an at-large. It made us look at the Penn State game and some of those games that were close.
”We beat (then-No. 2) UConn. We got closer to getting that at-large. We got one. We have Maryland, Penn State, UConn, and we have to win a couple of those games so that play-in game isn’t the end be-all and end-all for us.”
Holmes-Winn rests much of her optimism for this season on a senior class that is nine strong. Many of them have been contributing since they were freshmen.
”They all have just a very good sense of team,” Holmes-Winn said. “They understand the mission. They understand the program. I think they’re very much on the same page as the coaching staff.”
The coaching staff has two new members as well. Allison Nemeth, a former first-team All-Ivy goalkeeper for Princeton, has returned to her alma mater, while Homero Pardi, who has been an assistant at the college level, moves to Princeton from Georgetown. The coaches’ jobs have been made easier by the large senior group.
”They are very focused in terms of what our goals and what our mission is this season,” Holmes-Winn said of the seniors. “They are workers. Every day they step on the field and they put it all out there. That’s been the case since they were freshmen. They set the tone. They educate our freshmen on what it is to be a Tiger. They lead by example. From a staff perspective, to be able to know that those really vital components are something we don’t have to teach, it’s a real help. That’s something they’ve brought to the table ever since they were freshmen. That’s really our biggest advantage.”
The Tigers return several strong juniors and sophomores, and while they lost three-time Ivy League Player of the Year Paige Schmidt, Princeton has a talented freshman class that includes two national team members. Freshmen Katie Reinprecht, the younger sister of Sarah Reinprecht, and Kathleen Sharkey will join junior Kaitlyn Perrelle on the USA Field Hockey’s Junior Pan American Cup team in October.
Holmes-Winn calls herself cautiously optimistic at this stage. She is happy to have an extra week of preparation before the start of the season thanks to new legislation on the start date for Ivy field hockey teams. It will help Princeton prepare for Richmond, and then William and Mary on Sunday.
”Hopefully it’ll put us a little closer to being able to compete in our first few games,” Holmes-Winn said. “We just went into the first game (last year) knowing we had to improvise on a lot of things. We didn’t have chance to put in everything. We didn’t take rest. Our athletes went in sore.
”With 14 days, we have two mandatory days off that we would take anyway. We have a couple scrimmages and I think our athletes will be better prepared and we’ll be in a better place physically.”
The extra week of preparation also allows the incoming freshmen to acclimate to the team environment and try to make an impact. The Tigers have seen a big advantage from bringing in several consecutive talented recruiting classes.
”What we’ve been working toward is being able to have every position on the field up for grabs,” Holmes-Winn explained. “The freshmen have come in and really competed. They’re extremely talented but very humble as well. They didn’t just walk in expecting to play. They came in in good condition. There are a couple athletes in that group that are playing at the highest level in the country. They’ve played on my New Jersey High Performance team. I know their hockey very well. They are just phenomenal competitors. They see the game in a way you can’t teach.
”They’ve come in and been two of fittest athletes and not taken anything for granted. They’ve worked their way in.”
The freshmen will face a new test when they play their first collegiate game Saturday. The Tigers dive into a schedule that includes teams from a wide variety of conferences. Princeton, which is ranked 16th in the preseason, faces five teams in the preseason top 20.
”We’ve got almost every conference in there,” Holmes-Winn said. “That’s important toward the end of the year when you have to make a case for yourself. We have a chance to establish ourselves non-conference. We have to make sure we’re taking care of those games and of course taking care of our duty in the league.”
The Tigers will see their first Ivy League action Sept. 20 against Dartmouth in their home opener. The Tigers are looking for their 17th Ivy title this year.
”We get everyone’s best game,” Holmes-Winn said. “Just look at after we played Cornell, they said that’s been their goal since they came on campus. That’s the reality in the league. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s great preparation for us. They’re looking at getting five game tapes on us. They’re out to get us. From that perspective, we can’t take any game for granted.
”We have to bring our best every time we step on the field. That’s really a goal for this team. Our goal is to really approach every game like it’s our last. That’s important for our group. Every game is a must-win for us. That’s how we’re going to approach it.”

