October 30, 2012

Ivy League Field Hockey Overall/Conference Statistics

Photos courtesy of Brown Athletics Communications and Princeton Athletic Communications

PRINCETON, N.J. -- One more week, one more victory and Princeton will win its eighth-straight Ivy League field hockey championship and first outright title since 2010.

All that stands in the second-ranked Tigers’ (15-1, 6-0 Ivy) way is Penn (9-7, 3-3 Ivy), which will travel to Princeton on Saturday for an 11:00 a.m. game. The Tigers won their seventh- and eighth-straight games last week, defeating Cornell (8-8, 3-3 Ivy), 5-0, and No. 7 Virginia, 2-1. Senior Kathleen Sharkey scored the gamewinner in both contests.

A loss by Princeton and a win by Dartmouth (10-6, 5-1 Ivy) over Cornell would mean a tie for the Ivy League title, although the Tigers will advance to the NCAA Tournament thanks to their 4-1 win over the Big Green on Sept. 15. Princeton will host the NCAA Play-In game against the winner of the Patriot League Tournament, which will take place this weekend.

Dartmouth extended its winning streak to four games with a 4-1 victory over Harvard (3-12, 1-5 Ivy), before falling to No. 19 New Hampshire in overtime, 5-4. Sophomore Janine Leger had a nine-point week for the Big Green, with two goals against the Crimson and two goals and an assist against the Wildcats.

Columbia (8-7, 3-3 Ivy) junior Creaghan Peters scored with 28 seconds remaining in regulation against Yale (5-11, 2-4 Ivy) to send the game into overtime tied at two apiece, but the Bulldogs pulled out the victory thanks to a goal from junior Erica Borgo, her second of the game, in the 77th minute. Penn defeated Brown (6-10, 1-5 Ivy), 2-1 in overtime, despite 18 saves from Bears sophomore goalie Shannon McSweeney. Seven of McSweeney’s saves came in overtime, as she increased her season total to 175, breaking Brown’s single-season mark of 170, a record that had stood since 1990.

Saturday, Nov. 3 marks the final day of the regular-season. An hour after the Penn and Princeton game begins, Dartmouth will face Cornell and Columbia will play Harvard. Then, at 1:00 p.m., Brown will host Yale.

NCAA STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Two Ivies rank first in the country in three statistical categories. Sharkey is first in the nation in points per game (3.5) and goals per game (1.6) and McSweeney averages 10.9 saves per game, best in the country. She also is ninth in save percentage (0.792), just below Cornell’s Carolyn Horner (sixth, 0.801). Horner also is eighth nationally with 7.8 saves per contest, trailing two other Ivues, McSweeney and Harvard’s Cynthia Tassopoulos (seventh, 7.92). Princeton senior Katie Reinprecht ranks fourth in assists per game (0.88) and her teammate Christina Maida is eighth with a 1.21 goals against average. Columbia’s Katie DeSandis and Brown’s Kelsey Grossman are tied for eighth with four defensive saves apiece.

Click here for the complete NCAA statistics.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Princeton needed a victory over Cornell to clinch at least a share of the Ivy League title, its eighth-straight and 17th in the past 18 seasons. Senior Kathleen Sharkey’s (Moosic, Pa.) goal in the eighth minute eventually became the gamewinner as the Tigers went on to defeat the Big Red, 5-0. The next day, Sharkey scored yet another gamewinner, her League-leading seventh of the season, in Princeton’s 2-1 win over No. 7 Virginia, the Tigers’ sixth victory over a ranked opponent this season. That game had initially been scheduled for Oct. 29 but was moved due to Hurricane Sandy.

Sharkey leads the nation with 25 goals and 56 points. She takes home her third Player of the Week award this season (Sept. 4, Sept. 18) and eighth of her career. Sharkey is the first Tiger to earn three Player of the Week awards in a single season since she herself accomplished the feat in 2009.

Sharkey’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, 2G, 4 Pts., 10 Shots, 9 SOG, 2 GW

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Brown went 1-1 this week, shutting out Holy Cross, 4-0, before falling in overtime to Penn, 2-1. Freshman Alexis Miller (Caldwell, N.J.) scored once in each game, giving her back-to-back contests with a goal for the first time in her young career. Both of her goals came off assists from sophomore Clayton Christus.

Miller staked the Bears to a 3-0 lead over the Crusaders just before the end of the first half as Brown went on to record its first shutout of the season. Against Penn, Miller scored the equalizer with 14 minutes remaining in regulation to tie the game at one apiece and force overtime. Miller is currently tied for second on the team with five goals and ranks fourth on the squad with 11 points. She takes home her second Rookie of the Week award this season after sharing the honor with Harvard’s Elizabeth Jacobson on Oct. 2. Miller is the first Bear to earn Rookie of the Week outright since Meghan O’Donnell on Nov. 1, 2011.

Miller’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, 2G, 4 Pts., 2 Shots, 2 SOG

HONOR ROLL
Hannah Balleza, Cornell (Jr., F – Severna Park, Md.)
2 GP, 1G, 1A, 3 Pts., 5 Shots, 5 SOG

Erica Borgo, Yale (Jr., M – Randolph, N.J.)
2 GP, 2G, 1A, 5 Pts., 9 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GW

Janine Leger, Dartmouth (So., M – Johannesburg)
2 GP, 4G, 1A, 9 Pts., 6 Shots, 4 SOG, 1 GW

Shannon McSweeney, Brown (So., GK – Boxborough, Mass.)
2 GP-2 GS, 150:14 Mins., 2 GA, 0.93 GAA, 24 Svs., .923 Sv. %, 1-1, 1 SO

Creaghan Peters, Columbia (Jr., D – Baltimore)
1 GP, 1G, 2 Pts., 1 Shot, 1 SOG

Rachael Rosenfeld, Harvard (Jr., F – Leola, Pa
2 GP, 1G, 2 Pts., 1 Shot, 1 SOG

Julie Tahan, Penn (Jr., M – Morristown, N.J.)
2 GP, 1G, 1A, 3 Pts., 5 Shots, 3 SOG, 1 GW

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, November 3
*Penn at No. 2 Princeton, 11 am
*Dartmouth at Cornell, 12 pm
*Columbia at Harvard, 12 pm
*Yale at Brown, 1 pm

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
September 4 – Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton)
September 11 – Gabby Kozlowski (Columbia)/Katie Reinprecht (Princeton)
September 18 – Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton)
September 25 – Maggie Scanlon (Dartmouth)/Sarah Hasson (Penn)
October 2 – Carolyn Horner (Cornell)
October 9 – Hannah Balleza (Cornell)
October 16 – Ali Savage (Dartmouth)
October 23 – Shannon McSweeney (Brown)/Ali Savage (Dartmouth)
October 30 – Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton)
November 6 –

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
September 4 – Elizabeth Hitti (Penn)
September 11 – Anna Scipioni (Columbia)
September 18 – Teresa Benvenuti (Princeton)
September 25 – Elizabeth Hitti (Penn)
October 2 – Alexis Miller (Brown)/Elizabeth Jacobson (Harvard)
October 9 – Marisa Siergiej (Cornell)
October 16 – Taylor Standiford (Cornell)
October 23 – Teresa Benvenuti (Princeton)
October 30 – Alexis Miller (Brown)
November 6 –

HONOR ROLL
September 4 – Liza Masini (Dartmouth), Shannon McSweeney (Brown), Christie O’Hara (Columbia), Hannah Rogers (Brown), Julie Tahan (Penn), Cynthia Tassapoulos (Harvard)
September 11 – Mary Beth Barham (Yale), Amelia Cohen (Penn), Clayton Christus (Brown), Elizabeth Hitti (Penn), Hannah Rogers (Brown)
September 18 – Molly Andrews (Columbia), Hannah Balleza (Cornell), Mary Beth Barham (Yale), Christina Freibott (Columbia), Shannon McSweeney (Brown)
September 25 – Hannah Balleza (Cornell), Erica Borgo (Yale), Maddie Copeland (Princeton), Liz Malone (Columbia), Hannah Rogers (Brown), Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton), Brooke Van Valkenburg (Dartmouth)
October 2 – Allison Evans (Princeton), Ellen Meyer (Dartmouth), Meghan O’Donnell (Brown), Carly Sokach (Penn), Cynthia Tassopoulos (Harvard)
October 9 – Katie DeSandis (Columbia), Sarah Hasson (Penn), Elizabeth Hitti (Penn), Syndey Kirby (Princeton)
October 16 – Hannah Balleza (Cornell), Erica Borgo (Yale), Christina Freibott (Columbia), Gabby Kozlowski (Columbia), Julia Reinprecht (Princeton), Carly Sokach (Penn)
October 23 – Hannah Balleza (Cornell), Katie DeSandis (Columbia), Anna Masini (Brown), Julie Tahan (Penn)
October 30 – Hannah Balleza (Cornell), Erica Borgo (Yale), Janine Leger (Dartmouth), Shannon McSweeney (Brown), Creaghan Peters (Columbia), Rachael Rosenfeld (Harvard), Julie Tahan (Penn)
November 6 –

WEEKLY AWARD HISTORY

Player of the Week
School	Last Occurence	Player
Brown	October 23, 2012*	Shannon McSweeney
Columbia	September 11, 2012*	Gabby Kozlowski
Cornell	October 9, 2012	Hannah Balleza
Dartmouth	October 23, 2012*	Ali Savage
Harvard	September 27, 2011	Carly Dickson
Penn	September 25, 2012*	Sarah Hasson
Princeton	October 30, 2012	Kathleen Sharkey
Yale	November 1, 2011	Erin Carter
Rookie of the Week
School	Last Occurence	Player
Brown	October 30, 2012	Alexis Miller
Columbia	September 12, 2012	Anna Scipioni
Cornell	October 16, 2012	Taylor Standiford
Dartmouth	November 8, 2011	Ali Savage
Harvard	October 2, 2012*	Elizabeth Jacobson
Penn	September 25, 2012	Elizabeth Hitti
Princeton	October 23, 2012	Teresa Benvenuti
Yale	November 9, 2010	Erica Borgo

*Shared honor