No. 14 Princeton's Final Four Run Ends; Tigers Drop Heartbreaker To No. 8 Delaware, 3-2

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NORFOLK, Va. – Esmee Peet's second goal of the game with 1:30 remaining gave the No. 8 Delaware Blue Hens a 3-2 victory over the No. 14 Princeton Tigers in the NCAA National Semifinal contest at L.R. Hill Sports Complex on Friday evening.

The Blue Hens (22-2) will take on the No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels in the National Championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m.

"I thought overall we played a great game," said head coach Carla Tagliente. "We chased the game a little bit because we were down 1-0 and 2-1, but I think we did a great job in responding and coming back."

Princeton finishes the season at 12-8 overall. The Tigers rolled up four wins over nationally ranked opponents and received the first NCAA at-large bid in program history. Senior captain Cat Caro set a new career high with 18 goals and 43 points while junior Ryan McCarthy posted a personal-best 14 tallies and 33 points.

With the loss, the collegiate careers of Hailey Reeves, Ellen Dobrijevic and Caro come to an end. The Class of 2017 won 45 games, three Ivy League titles, posted an .892 conference winning percentage and was part of five NCAA Tournament victories.

It took all of four minutes for the Blue Hens to create the first scoring chance as Lisa Giezsman slid a shot across the cage, but freshman Grace Baylis sprawled out to make the stop.

In the 10th minute, Princeton looked for the game's first goal as McCarthy, dribbling along the left side of the field, spotted an open Krista Hoffman in the circle, but Delaware's goalie Emmeline Oltman came out from the cage and prevented an attempt.

The Blue Hens got on the scoreboard in the 15th minute as Peet's shot off a corner hit a Princeton defender and trickled by Baylis.

Princeton quickly found the equalizer on the next trip down the field. After Caro pushed the ball into the circle, sophomore Sophia Tornetta sent a shot that was going wide, but McCarthy, by herself on the other side, tapped it in to make it 1-all.

The Tigers had a great scoring threat as the clock ticked under 10 minutes remaining in the first stanza. On the press, junior Lexi Quirk stole the ball from the Delaware defender and rifled a pass to Tornetta. The sophomore saw an open Caro, but the senior captain's attempt was wide.

It seemed like Tagliente's squad took a 2-1 advantage as McCarthy picked up a rebound and inserted it in, but Delaware called for a review. On the play, Reeves ripped a shot that knocked down an opponent's stick, leading to McCarthy's tally, but the senior's initial chance was ruled dangerous, thus waving off the goal.

After the first 35 minutes of game action, each team had three shots on goal and one penalty corner.

As the second half got underway, the Tigers' offense picked up momentum. Princeton peppered Oltman with shots and seemed to finally solve the goalie, but Kiki Bink denied one of McCarthy's attempts from getting past the goal line.

Delaware was awarded four penalty corners in the first 12 minutes of the second stanza, but the Princeton defense stood tall, blocking four shots. On the Blue Hens' fifth corner, Bink redirected a shot in by Greta Nauck to put them ahead 2-1.

Looking for an opportunity for the game-tying goal, the Tigers got one more corner with 3:53 to go. Like she has many times before, Caro gave her team a boost as she swept the insert by Oltman.

The Blue Hens put together the game-winner on a quick counter up the field from Meghan Winesett. She sent a ball towards an open Peet, who stroked it into the cage, sending the Blue Hens to the title game against North Carolina on Sunday.

Delaware finished a 12-9 lead and 7-2 advantage in corners. Caro and McCarthy led the Tigers with three shots each. Tornetta added two helpers while Baylis made two saves in loss.

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