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Tiger Field Hockey Poised To Get Fall Season Started With a Bang When it Hosts Virginia
By Bill Alden
With the Princeton University field hockey team getting the school's fall sports campaign underway this Friday evening when it hosts University of Virginia, rookie Tiger head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn vows that her squad will provide an exciting opening night.
"My system is a very attacking style, something like a full-court press in basketball," said Holmes-Winn, an All-American during her playing days in the late 1990s at the University of Iowa who has coached at her alma mater and has headed the U.S. Under-16 National Team.
"It's a demanding style of play. Everybody gets a chance to get involved and play. It's an exciting style to watch."
Under longtime head coach Beth Bozman, who left Princeton last spring to guide Duke's program, the Tigers gave their fans plenty of excitement, winning the last nine Ivy League titles and making four NCAA Final Fours.
Leaving with Bozman was a solid group of graduating seniors included last year's leading scorer and first-team All-American attack Ilvy Friebe (61 points), Rachael Becker (18 points), second-team All-American defender Emily Townsend, and second-team All-American goalkeeper Kelly Baril.
The upbeat Holmes-Winn, though, hardly sees the cupboard as being left bare by Bozman, whose final Tiger team went 12-7 and made it to second round of NCAA tournament after upsetting defending national champion Michigan.
"We have a very versatile, very flexible group," maintained Holmes-Winn. "They are good thinkers of the game. I don't feel that we have any weak links."
Indeed, the Tigers return four of their top six scorers from a year ago including first-team All-American midfielder Natalie Martosian, a senior from Richmond, Va. who was the team's second-leading scorer with 30 points on 12 goals and six assists.
Also back in the midfield are seniors Claire Miller, a senior from Scarsdale, N.Y. who was a first-team All-American in 2002 with 17 points, and second-team All American Cory Picketts (14 points).
Other key veterans include third-team All American attack Lizzie Black, senior defender Kelly Darling, and sophomore attack Maren Ford.
The goaltending situation would appear to be a trouble spot with freshmen Allison Nemeth of Langhorne, Pa. and Juliana Simon from Berwyn, Pa. slated to replace the stellar Baril, but Holmes-Winn doesn't see it that way.
"Allison Nemeth made the 'A' squad at the national camp this summer," explained Holmes-Winn. "She and Juliana are two of the top goalies in the country at their age. I feel they are ready to step up to the challenge."
Although Holmes-Winn will have had only 10 days to get her team ready for the challenge posed by the Cavaliers, who went 9-11 last year playing in the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, the young coach believes her team has the right mindset to get out of the gate with a rush.
"They feel the pressure," said Holmes-Winn. "They come to practice with real excitement and focus."
The coach herself comes into Friday night with a similar attitude as she starts her tenure at Princeton. "I feel really blessed to have this chance," she added. "This is a fun challenge."
It should be plenty of fun to watch how Holmes-Winn and her team respond to the challenges ahead.
