Field Hockey Weekly Release - Week 4

Updated Overall/Conference Stats (pdf)

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The conference-slate of the Ivy League field hockey season got underway last week. After the dust settled, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and Yale each had an Ivy victory under their belts, while Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Penn were still looking for their first League win.

Columbia and Princeton each went 2-0 last week, while Cornell and Yale finished the week with a 1-1 mark. The Ivy schedule officially kicked off on Sept. 15, when Cornell beat Penn, 4-0, Princeton handled Dartmouth, 4-1 and Yale nipped Harvard, 2-1 in overtime. The following day, Columbia held off Brown, 4-1.

The Big Red’s victory over Penn was its first of the season, ending a seven-game losing streak, dating back to last season. Junior Hannah Balleza recorded her first career hat trick, scoring all three of her goals in the first half. After opening its season with two straight losses, Columbia has won four in a row, including a 4-2 victory over Hofstra and its win over the Bears. Senior goalie Christie O’Hara stopped a combined 11 shots in the two wins last week.

Princeton learned on Monday that it had earned a No. 2 ranking, the highest in program history. The Tigers made sure to remain undefeated on the year, defeating Dartmouth, 4-1, and Delaware, 10-2. The offensive output against the Blue Hens was the highest for Princeton since it scored 10 against Penn on Nov. 5, 2010. Junior Michelle Cesan and senior Katie Reinprecht each had pair of goals apiece, while Cesan tallied two assists and Reinprecht recorded one. Freshmen Teresa Benvenuti and Maddie Copeland each scored their first career goals and classmate Kate Ferrara had her first career assist.

Yale’s win over Harvard meant that the class of 2013 became the first group in school history to go 4-0 against the Crimson. Fittingly, it was senior Mary Beth Barham who scored both of her team’s goals, including the gamewinner in overtime. The Bulldogs then battled No. 5 UConn tough, but eventually fell, 3-0.

Despite Princeton’s performance last week, the Tigers dropped to No. 3 in the latest Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Poll. But they will have an opportunity to move up in the rankings when they host No. 2 Syracuse on Sunday. In Ivy action, Princeton will travel north for a matchup with Yale on Saturday, while Harvard will face Penn and Brown will take on Dartmouth. Friday features a contest between the two New York teams when Cornell and Columbia square off.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Princeton senior Kathleen Sharkey (Moosic, Pa.) did her best to ensure that her team did not relinquish its hold the No. 2 national ranking. In two games last week, Sharkey finished with 13 points on five goals and three assists, including a pair of gamewinners. She was a factor in three of her team’s four goals against Dartmouth, with two scores and an assist, and then contributed to half of the Tigers’ scoring in their 10-goal outburst against Delaware, with three scores and two assists.

Sharkey earns her second Player of the Week award this season (Sept. 4) and the seventh of her career. Princeton becomes the first team to earn three-straight Player of the Week awards in one season since Yale went back-to-back-to-back with Ashley McCauley (Oct. 2), Charlotte Goins (Oct. 9) and Cat Lindroth (Oct. 16) in 2007.

Sharkey’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, 5G, 3A, 13 Pts., 18 Shots, 10 SOG, 2GW

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Princeton freshman Teresa Benvenuti (Morristown, N.J.) certainly had a nice benvenuti to Ivy League play, tallying her first collegiate point with an assist in her team’s 4-1 win over Dartmouth. She was not done, however, as she scored her first career goal in the Tigers’ thrashing of Delaware, while also tallying two assists. For the week, Benvenuti finished with five points on a goal and three assists.

Benvenuti is the first Tiger to earn Rookie of the Week since Sydney Kirby on Oct. 4, 2011. Princeton swept the weekly awards for the first time since Nov. 3, 2009, when Katie Reinprecht (co-Player) and Cesan (co-Rookie) took home the honors. The last time Princeton took both awards outright was Oct. 6, 2009, when Sharkey earned Player of the Week and Julia Reinprecht received Rookie of the Week. The last time any team swept both Player and Rookie of the Week was Sept. 20, 2011, when Dartmouth’s Kelly Hood (Player) and Ali Savage (Rookie) received the awards.

Benvenuti’s Weekly Stats
2 GP, 1G, 3A, 5 Pts., 9 Shots, 4 SOG

HONOR ROLL
Molly Andrews, Columbia (Sr., F – Philadelphia)
2 GP, 2G, 4 Pts., 3 Shots, 2 SOG, 1 GW

Hannah Balleza, Cornell (Jr., F – Severna Park, Md.)
1 GP, 3G, 6 Pts., 5 Shots, 3 SOG, 1 GW

Mary Beth Barham, Yale (Sr., M – Fairfax, Va.)
2 GP, 2G, 4 Pts., 6 Shots, 3 SOG, 1 GW

Christina Freibott, Columbia (Fr., M – Wilmington, Del.)
2 GP, 2A, 2 Pts., 5 Shots, 5 SOG

Shannon McSweeney, Brown (So., GK – Boxborough, Mass.)
2 GP-2 GS, 140:00 Mins, 6 GA, 3.00 GAA, 19 Svs., .760 Sv. %, 0-2

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, September 19
Bryant at Dartmouth, 3 pm
Penn at La Salle, 5 pm

Friday, September 21
*Cornell at Columbia, 4 pm

Saturday, September 22
*Harvard at Penn, 11:30 am
*Princeton at Yale, 12 pm
*Brown at Dartmouth, 12 pm

Sunday, September 23
Cornell at Rutgers, 1 pm
Fairfield at Columbia, 1 pm
No. 2 Syracuse at No. 3 Princeton, 2 pm
Dartmouth at Holy Cross, 2 pm
Sacred Heart at Yale, 2 pm

KEY
*-Ivy League Contest

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
September 4 – Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton)
September 11 – Gabby Kozlowski (Columbia)/Katie Reinprecht (Princeton)
September 18 – Kathleen Sharkey (Princeton)
September 25 –
October 2 –
October 9
October 16 –
October 23 –
October 30 –
November 6 –

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK
September 4 – Elizabeth Hitti (Penn)
September 11 – Anna Scipioni (Columbia)
September 18 – Teresa Benvenuti (Princeton)
September 25 –
October 2 –
October 9
October 16 –
October 23 –
October 30 –
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 –
October 2 –
October 9
October 16 –
October 23 –
October 30 –
November 6 –

WEEKLY AWARD HISTORY

*Shared honor