PU field hockey team is setting sights high again
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
The Princeton University field hockey team will waste no time in finding out how good it is, but the Tigers also expect plenty of growth through this season.
The Tigers open the season today at No. 4 Duke and then play at No. 6 Virginia on Sunday. Those are two of the Tigers’ eight opponents ranked in the pre-season NFHCA Top-20.
”We have a clear picture of where want to be in November,” said PU head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn. “Every day our vision is on how to be there.”
The Tigers used the spring to get a jump on how they will look this season. Princeton is two years removed from winning the national championship, but some of the key players that got the Tigers there and to their 22nd Ivy League title last year have graduated.
”The last few years have been just sensational classes with a lot of really technical players with a real technical skill sets and high hockey IQ,” Holmes-Winn said. “It’s a less technical group, but I’ve been really struck with their level of intensity and focus. It’s been really good.
”We certainly have a lot of players that are capable of changing a game at any moment. It’s been exciting to see. We have some really dynamic players. We’ll see how they evolve across the season and how the players around them evolve. Top to bottom, they’re very engaged. It’s definitely going to take some time to find our footing, but I think we know who we are. That’s been less defined in the past. Having that definition and really solid platform is going to help us progress more quickly.”
The Tigers have gotten their preseason off to a strong start, and they will find out where they need to make adjustments after they play Duke and UVA. Both of them have already opened the regular season.
”Just with the rules of the Ivy League, we start later,” Holmes-Winn said. “They have more information about themselves. In that regard, we can’t help but be a little behind in some ways. Hockey aside, understanding who you are and how you’re going to go about the battle is important.
”Where we lack being refined, we can make up for it with that identity of who we are and how we’re going to play. The strength of schedule, it keeps the motivation of the players really high. You don’t have to frame the games, they’re already competing at a high level and they’re highly ranked. Our players like that. They want to be challenged every game. They wouldn’t be happy if I gave them a soft schedule.”
The Tigers return enough experience to give them a solid core to build around, and they have added a freshman class well suited to impact the team. The team started to take shape in the spring.
”Our identity has everything to do with what we did in the spring,” Holmes-Winn said. “Our rising seniors, they had to know what kind of leaders they wanted to be and make sure they’re living our values. That’s where at great deal of our growth happened. It’s given us a strong starting spot for the fall.”
Princeton senior Allison Evans is the team’s leading returning scorer, and comes off a season in which she had a career-high six assists to go with 11 goals. Cat Caro and Annabeth Donovan are sophomores that trained with the U-21 national team this summer. Donovan was the Ivy Co-Rookie of the Year and Caro started 16 games as a freshman. Teresa Benvenuti is a junior who posted the third most points on last year’s team. Cassidy Arner, Kate Ferrara and Sydney Kirby return with 40 starts between them last year. Arner and Kirby were part of a PU defense that allowed only 1.76 goals per game, and only 0.71 per game in Ivy contests. Julia Boyle and Anya Gersoff are back as goalies. Gersoff started 13 games and led the Ivies with a 1.81 goals against average.
Princeton has a pair of New Jersey products in its freshman class, including Princeton Day School’s Sarah Brennan, a defender. Ryan McCarthy played for Oak Knoll. Danielle Duseau, Rachel Park and Lexi Quirk make this another encouraging freshman class.
”We’ll have two or three freshmen starting,” Holmes-Winn said. “They’re definitely really capable players. I feel really good about them. Our freshmen class came in really, really fit. Their recovery scores are really good. They’re able to recover very quick which is a measure of fitness. They’re able to bring the sort of tempo you need. It’s getting them to understand how to play in a structure.”
The Tigers are fitting their style around this year’s strengths on the squad. Princeton will look to dictate play at both ends of the field.
”We’ve definitely amped up our aggression on the defensive side of the ball,” Holmes-Winn said. “I think this will be maybe more physical of a team than what we’ve had in the past. In the preseason, there’s been way more contact. That’s where the game is going anyway. Officials are letting the play go more. It’s important we match that. That’s natural for this group. When we play small games, it’s struck me how natural it is for this group. That’s where we’ve been hedging the last couple years, but this group is ready for it.
”The emphasis on attacking is what we’re doing off the ball and getting lots of players above the ball. It’s an attacking mindset.”
The Tigers know that their success will hinge not just on how they play on the field on game days, but how they come together in all facets and how they manage themselves with an eye to the future.
”It always is the ability to manage the influences that either promote or degrade performances over time,” Holmes-Winn said. “We use the principle of neutrality. Every action has a consequence short-term or long-term. We look scientifically at how we train. Those variables are the difference. We’ll tactically be where we need to be. The difference maker in maximizing potential is performance abilities.”