Box Score
Led by a three-goal Kathleen Sharkey effort, the No. 2
Princeton field hockey team handed No. 13 Lafayette a 6-0 loss Tuesday in the
NCAA Play-In Game. The Tigers (17-1) now await their fate in the NCAA
Championship, with brackets being announced this evening at 8 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Princeton pounded the Lafayette circle over the first 13
minutes, with Allison Evans opening the scoring drive nearly immediately. Katie Reinprecht dished the ball to an open Evans on the right side to put in the
eventual game-winner at 2:34.
The Tigers did not waste much time adding to its lead,
finding the back of the net twice in the seventh minute. Sharkey not only had a
hat trick in the match, but also got in on the assist game. She found an open Sydney Kirby
on the right side to put Princeton up 2-0 at 6:12.
Thirty-eight seconds later Sharkey netted her first goal of
the day, grabbing a deflection outside the Leopard cage.
Up 3-0, Princeton continued to pepper in shots on the
Lafayette cage. At 9:40, Reinprecht followed through on an Evans blocked shot
to add a goal of her own. She would finish with an assist and a goal in
the game.
The Tigers' first half domination concluded with a second
Sharkey goal at 12:59. Teresa Benvenuti picked up a redirected ball and passed
it to Sharkey to earn her ninth multi-goal game this season.
Benvenuti then made a critical defensive save in the 26th
minute, stopping a Lafayette Jenna Seybert shot in front of the cage.
Princeton went into halftime with a 5-0 advantage, before
adding a sixth goal from none other than Sharkey. At the 52:55-minute mark,
Amanda Bird sent the ball to an open Sharkey in front of the Leopard cage to
score her 32nd goal of the year.
Goalie Christina Maida posted her second consecutive shutout
and now has 2.4 on the year. She tallied five saves in the victory.
Princeton led in shots, 18-7, shots on goal, 10-6, and
saves, 6-4, while Lafayette held a 6-4 differential in penalty corners.
