Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Big Red field hockey team gave sixth-ranked Princeton all it could handle, but came up just short, falling to the Tigers, 3-2, this afternoon at Marsha Dodson Field. Trailing 3-0 late in the game, the Big Red scored twice in the final five minutes of the contest, but could not find the equalizer.

With the win, the Tigers are guaranteed at least a share of the Ivy League title and extend its conference winning streak to 23 games, having last been defeated by Cornell in 2007. Likewise the one-goal margin of victory is the smallest against a conference opponent since defeating Columbia, 3-2, in 2008.

“I am disappointed with the result, but not with the effort,” said head coach Donna Hornibrook. “I am extremely proud of our performance. The Tigers are an outstanding team, but I thought this was a really well played and evenly played game.”

Cornell (11-4, 4-2) had excellent chances to score throughout the contest, but didn't break through until the 66th minute when Catie De Stio battled her way through the defense and put a shot on goal. Tiger goalie Jennifer King made the save, but could not clear the ball and De Stio had a great second effort go into the goal.

Just over three minutes later, Cornell cleared the ball out of its defensive zone and Sara Sanders sent a brilliant pass upfield to Kate Thompson. The senior midfielder carried to the top of the circle, pulled back and rolled left-to-right away from her defender before ripping a shot that went through King's legs to make it a 3-2 game.

The rest of the game was battled at midfield with neither team getting off another shot.

Princeton (12-4, 6-0), which has the second-best offense in the nation, was held well-below its season average of 4.2 goals per game, thanks to an outstanding defensive effort from the Big Red. Additionally the Cornell defense allowed the Tigers only one goal during the course of play, with the other two coming off penalty corners.

For just the second time this season, the Big Red was outshot as Princeton held the 15-10 edge in shots and an 8-7 margin in shots on goal. The Tigers did hold a significant edge in penalty corners, 8-3. Both teams registered five saves, with King stopping five for Princeton to get the win, while Alex Botte registered four saves and Liz Schovee made a defensive save for the Big Red.

Kathleen Sharkey, the nation's leading scorer, tallied the Tigers first two goals of the game, both of which came off penalty corners in the first half of action. In the 45th minute Allison Behringer scored what proved to be a much needed insurance goal to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

Cornell is back in action tomorrow as it plays host to Villanova on Sunday, Oct. 31 at noon. The game will be part of the “Stick it to Cancer” initiative and the team will be raising money for the National Foundation for Cancer Research by raffling off great prizes, including a pair of Cornell men's ice hockey tickets. The squad will also hold a post-game skills clinic for any student, grades 6-12, for a fee of $10, all of which will be donated directly to the NFCR.