FH: ‘Nova falls to No. 12 Tigers
October 22, 2008
The field hockey team moved to 11-5 on Oct. 19 after losing a hard-fought battle against No. 12 Princeton. In a close contest, the Tigers managed to get on the board first in the 19th minute with a goal by Candice Arner. The Wildcats responded just two minutes later when sophomore Lauren Wuzzardo put one in the net off a penalty corner set up by senior Sam Coveleski. Wuzzardo’s game-tying goal was her fifth this season.
In the 22nd minute, junior Steffi Caniglia recorded her first defensive save this season. However, the Tigers’ following penalty corner shot found the net, leaving Princeton with a 2-1 lead that lasted long into the second half.
In the 64th minute, sophomore Meg Ryan backhanded the ball to score her fourth goal of the season and tied the game once again. The Tigers took a 3-2 lead with just four minutes left in the game. The Wildcats made their last successful offensive attack, as freshman Abby Sordoni tied the game with less than two minutes remaining to send the game into overtime, where the Wildcats surrendered a goal in the 74th minute.
After less than five minutes of play, the Tigers’ Katie Reinprecht broke the 3-3 tie to give Princeton the win. As the inserter on a penalty corner, she got the ball into the cage for the win.
Sophomore goalkeeper Maura McCormick recorded a season-high 10 saves, eight in the second half, to bring her season total to 75. McCormick entered the week ranked third in the country for save percentage and fourth for goals against average. She has only allowed 18 goals in the Wildcats’ 16 games.
Villanova managed to score three goals on only four shots after allowing Princeton 31 shots, 15 of which were on goal.
Up next, the Wildcats head on the road to New York where they will play No. 1 Syracuse. The game is scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m.