Big Green Travel to No. 8 Princeton Saturday to Face the Tigers

GAME 11
Dartmouth (3-7, 0-2 Ivy) at Princeton (8-4, 2-0 Ivy)
Date: Saturday, October 8, 2022 – 12 p.m.
Location: Princeton, N.J. – Bedford Field
All-Time Series: Princeton, 30-8-2
Last Time: 10/9/21 – L, 6-0
Watch (ESPN+) | Live Stats

SETTING THE SCENE
The Dartmouth field hockey team is set to face its second nationally-ranked opponent in the last three road games (and first top 10 opponent since 2019), as the Big Green travel to No. 8 Princeton on Saturday to face the Tigers. Gametime is set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+. The Big Green are coming off a competitive contest at New Hampshire Sunday, which saw them even the score at one and two in the second quarter. Saturday is the lone game of the weekend for Dartmouth and third-to-last road game of the season (with four home contests still remaining).

LAST TIME OUT
DURHAM, N.H. (10/2/22) – The Dartmouth field hockey team twice pulled even in the second quarter, but New Hampshire scored with 33 seconds left in the first half and added two insurance goals in the second, as the Big Green fell 5-2 on Sunday. Both Big Green goals were scored off penalty corners, as Bronwyn Bird and Myah Pease netted their second and fourth goals of the season, respectively. Florentina Terra added two defensive saves, while Lauren Devletian had one and goalkeeper Hatley Post finished with seven stops on the afternoon.

SCOUTING PRINCETON
Princeton has won five of its last six games to move to 8-4 on the season (2-0 in the Ivy League). Included was a 4-3 double overtime thriller over No. 3 Maryland. But a busy stretch of five games in 10 days (all at home) ended with a 3-2 overtime defeat to Lafayette. Princeton then responded with wins of 6-1, 4-2 and 6-1, at Yale, UConn and Monmouth, respectively. Grace Schulze was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week following an impressive two-goal three-assist weekend in Connecticut.

The Tigers are ranked eighth in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, becoming Dartmouth's first top 10 opponent since it also faced Princeton, at home on Sept. 28, 2019. The Tigers are the Big Green's highest-ranked opponent since hosting No. 6 Harvard on Oct. 27, 2018. Beth Yeager leads the Tigers in goals (9) and points (24) while Sammy Popper has 16 points (seven goals, two assists) and Schultze owns 13 (three goals, seven assists). Ophelie Bemelmans leads Princeton in assists with nine. Robyn Thompson has started all 11 games in goal, tallying a 1.85 goals against average and 74.1 save percentage.

Last season, Princeton finished 10-7, including 6-1 in the Ivy League with the lone league defeat coming at No. 11 Harvard in penalty strokes (a team that went on to the National Semifinals).

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE TIGERS
Princeton leads the all-time series against Dartmouth, 30-8-2, with the Tigers winning last season in Hanover, 6-0. Princeton has won nine in a row in the series, with the Big Green's last victory coming on Sept. 17, 2011 at home by a 2-1 final. Dartmouth's last win at Princeton came on Oct. 8, 1988, 3-2 as part of the Big Green's Ivy League Championship season.

DEFENSE STANDING TALL
Dartmouth's defense has had its fair share of success this season. The Big Green held Merrimack to one goal, which came 58:06 into the game, in a 2-1 win. Dartmouth held a high-scoring Syracuse offense to three goals over the game's first 56 minutes. Against Brown, the Big Green held the Bears to, at the time, their fewest shots on goal (4) and tied for fewest shots (9) and goals (2).

REELING OFF WINS
Dartmouth's 2-1 win over Merrimack on Sunday, Sept. 18 gave the Big Green three straight wins for the first time since Oct. 18 to 24 of 2017. It was also Dartmouth's first time with three straight wins in regulation since 2013 (Oct. 23 to Nov. 2).

SCORING, SCORING, SCORING
-The Big Green scored in the final minute at Cornell on Friday, Sept. 23 to increase their goal-scoring streak to begin the season to seven games. It marked the first time since 2015 that Dartmouth scored in each of the first seven games of the season.
-Dartmouth scored twice on Sunday, Sept. 18 vs. Merrimack to increase its streak of scoring multiple goals to four straight games, its longest streak since 2018.
-The Big Green's 12 goals over four games also mark their most scored in any four-game streak since scoring 15 between Sept. 18 and Oct. 3 of 2015.
-With Dartmouth's four goals against Sacred Heart on Sunday, Sept. 11, the Big Green reached 13 goals through five games – their most through any five-game stretch since the 2018 season. It was also the most through the first five games of any season since 2018.
-After scoring two against Merrimack, Dartmouth's 15 goals through six games were also its most since 2018.
-The Big Green scored 4+ goals in back-to-back games (vs. Northeastern and Sacred Heart) for the first time since Sept. 9-10 of 2017.
-Dartmouth's 10 goals over three games marked its most over a three-game stretch since scoring 11 from Sept. 1-9 of 2018.

HISTORIC WIN OVER NORTHEASTERN
Dartmouth earned a 4-3 win over Northeastern on Sept. 9, a historic victory which marked the Big Green's third in the all-time series against Northeastern and first since 1987. The four goals marked Dartmouth's most since a 5-0 win over Merrimack last Sept. 19. Caroline Carr scored twice in the win, the first two goals of her career, while Holley Cromwell and Payton Altman netted the others.

THAT MAINE SUCCESS
In the season opener at No. 22 Maine (a 5-2 loss), the Big Green finished with their most goals scored against Maine since the 2017 season — a 5-3 loss at home on Sept. 17, 2017. The two goals were Dartmouth's most against a nationally-ranked opponent since scoring twice against No. 19 Boston College on Sept. 13, 2019. The Big Green scored their most goals at Maine since the 2016 season, while the goal differential (-3) was their best at Maine since 2014.

STUDENT-ATHLETES
Dartmouth student-athletes enjoyed rewarding internship experiences over the summer. Read all about it, here.

Last February, the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) announced the recipients of the 2021 Division I National Academic Team Awards. Dartmouth, along with 78 other programs, were honored with the distinction, presented to programs that earn a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester of the 2021-22 school year.

The Big Green's 3.76 team GPA ranked third in the entire nation and top amongst the Ivies, just beating out Brown's 3.75 team GPA.

"I am in awe of this achievement by each of the athletes on our roster," said head coach Mark Egner. "For the past number of years our athletes have sustained this standard of academic success. This is something that is incredibly important as we strive to provide the premier student-athlete experience."

WELCOME, COACHES!
This August, head field hockey coach Mark Egner announced the additions of Tanner Ridgely and Jen Callahan to his coaching staff as assistant coach and volunteer assistant, respectively. They join Maggie Reddecliff to round out the staff.

Ridgely arrives in Hanover after spending the 2021-22 academic year as a volunteer assistant coach with the Towson field hockey program. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management with a minor in general business from James Madison University in 2021. While at James Madison, Ridgely spent three seasons on the field hockey team. She has also been a head coach for the Warhawks Field Hockey Club since November 2020.

No stranger to the Upper Valley, Callahan brings a wealth of coaching experience to Dartmouth. After a decorated four-year playing career at the University of Vermont, she got her start in coaching at Lehigh as a graduate assistant and moved up the ranks to be the transitional head coach in early 2011. After Lehigh, Callahan took the reins of the American International College field hockey program, leading the Yellow Jackets to the semifinals of the NE10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament during the 2011 season. Callahan spent nearly a decade with the USA Field Hockey Futures DarProgram and has recently served as a Lebanon recreation volunteer coach in soccer, field hockey and lacrosse. A 2009 graduate of Vermont with a bachelor's degree in elementary education, Callahan went on to receive a master's degree in teaching and learning from Lehigh in 2011. She also holds a USA Field Hockey Level II Developmental Coaching Accreditation and a USA Field Hockey Level I Coaching Accreditation.

FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's game will air on ESPN+ at 12 p.m., with live stats available as well.

WHAT'S AHEAD
After Saturday's contest, Dartmouth will return home to host No. 15 Harvard on Friday (3 p.m.) and UMass-Lowell on Sunday (2 p.m.). Both games will air on ESPN+.

Schedules