Princeton has improved drastically over the last few years, holding a record of 36-1 in the Ancient Eight since the 2008 season, momentum they rode to a national title last year. The Tigers' only loss in Ivy play in the last five years was to Dartmouth in 2011.
Ali Savage '15 scored the only goal for the Big Green in the 20th minute. Princeton's offense, which has scored 19 goals in just five games this season, put on an offensive clinic, peppering goalkeeper Ellen Meyer '15 the entire game. Meyer turned aside eight shots and had some crucial saves that kept the game close for most of the first half.
"We had a good first half, but an early goal scored by Princeton made it a game that we had to chase from the start," Janine Leger '15 said. "It was a fast-paced game and we dominated fitness-wise. But the difference was they capitalized in the circle."
While Princeton kept attacking the goal, the Big Green attempted fewer shots, only attempting five. Princeton's sophomore goalkeeper Anya Gersoff stopped two of the three shots the Big Green fired on goal.
Princeton sophomore Teresa Benvenuti scored the first of her three goals in the second minute of the game. She finished the hat trick in the 46th minute off of a penalty shot.
After the Tigers scored their second goal, Savage slid the ball to Eliza Becker '16, who found Savage streaking towards the cage for the give-and-go goal. The goal cut the deficit to one and could have turned momentum in the game, but the Tigers regrouped and flipped the game back at the Big Green.
The Tigers scored another goal before the end of half and four more in the second half.
"Moving forward, we have a lot of potential and the more confidence we build as a team, the better we are going to get, and we have the potential to be a formidable team," Leger said.
Despite the Big Green's loss, fans came out to support the team in massive numbers. There were almost 700 people in the crowd at Chase Field. Saturday marked the first celebration for the pioneers of Dartmouth field hockey, bringing four decades of Big Green field hockey alumnae back to Hanover. Most notably, players from the original teams of the 1970s were in attendance, making the game, despite the loss, a special experience.
"Not only was it our first Ivy League match-up and home opener, but it was also the first alumni field hockey weekend in Dartmouth's history," Sam Anderson '14 said. "Although the score of our game was not what we had wanted, having the support of our alumni, friends, and family kept us fighting for the entire 70 minutes."
The Big Green women return to action against Bryant University in Hanover on Wednesday before traveling to Providence, R.I., and Worcester, Mass., to take on Brown University and the College of the Holy Cross.
"While we didn't play our best Saturday, we have a great season ahead," Natalie Ludwig '17 said. "I'm looking forward to winning our first Ivy League game."
