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This year’s Tiger sports headlines included a parade of championship teams and two high-profile coaching departures. Read our choices, and add your favorites in the comment section below.

1. Field hockey reaches Final Four

In the semifinal round of the NCAA tournament Nov. 20, the Princeton field hockey team put forth a valiant effort against top-seeded Maryland, but the Tigers came up just short, losing 7-5 to the Terrapins. “We have an amazing core of young women who give everything they have,” coach Kristen Holmes-Winn said afterward. “They are an incredible foundation. We will be able to build on this as a program. Once you get a taste of this, it’s hard to go back. We will be fighting and clawing to keep getting better.” (Full story in PAW’s Jan. 13, 2010 issue)

2. Laxmen’s Tierney and Metzbower resign

Athletic director Gary Walters ’67 found himself looking for a men’s lacrosse coach after Bill Tierney resigned June 8 to accept the head-coaching job at the University of Denver and longtime assistant David Metzbower chose to leave Princeton rather than replace Tierney. The moves came just weeks after a season in which Princeton went 13-3, beat Syracuse (the eventual national champion), and lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to Cornell, with whom Princeton shared the Ivy League title. … (July 15)

Princeton football’s third consecutive losing season led to the dismissal of head coach Roger Hughes. The losses also have taken a toll on attendance at home games, which fell to 8,178 fans per game in 2009, the lowest average in the 12 seasons of Princeton Stadium. The Tigers drew more than 10,000 spectators just once, for their Oct. 3 loss to Columbia. A Thursday-night game against Colgate that turned out to be one of the season’s most exciting contests attracted a season-low 5,685 fans.

Princeton ranked fourth in Ivy League football attendance this season, behind Yale, Harvard, and Penn, and based on recent history, the Tigers likely rank in the top half of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). In 2008, when Princeton averaged 9,384 fans, its attendance was 38th among 118 FCS schools (the average draw for FCS games was 8,823). In 2006, when Princeton shared the Ivy championship with Yale, the Tigers averaged 12,220 fans and ranked 21st in FCS. The NCAA attendance report for 2009 has not yet been published.

Douglas Davis ’12 scored 23 points as MEN’S BASKETBALL topped Lafayette, 62-48, Dec. 6. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Princeton, which improved to 3-4 this season. Davis leads the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game. The team also has received strong play from Dan Mavraides ’11 (10.3 points per game), Marcus Schroeder ’10 (team-high 17 assists), and Patrick Saunders ’12 (47.1 percent shooting on 3-pointers).

In WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, forward Niveen Rasheed ’13 led Princeton in both scoring and rebounding as the Tigers surged to a 3-0 start. Rasheed’s stellar play in November and early December earned her Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors in four consecutive weeks. Princeton challenged UCLA and Rutgers in a pair of close losses and holds a 5-2 overall record. Other standouts for the Tigers include Lauren Edwards ’12 (12.7 points per game) and Addie Micir ’11 (12.6 points per game).

MEN’S HOCKEY dropped five consecutive road games — including losses to Ivy League rivals Cornell, Brown, and Yale — to fall to 3-7-1 overall. The Tigers struggled to score in their Dec. 4-5 games against Brown and Yale, managing just one goal in each contest.

Princeton FIELD HOCKEY lost 7-5 to top-ranked Maryland in a hard-fought semifinal at the NCAA Final Four in Winston-Salem, N.C., Nov. 20. Princeton’s Michelle Cesan ’13 scored the game’s first goal on a penalty corner, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute. The undefeated Terrapins responded, putting relentless pressure on the Princeton defense and scoring four consecutive goals — three before halftime and one shortly after the intermission.

Then it was Princeton’s turn to show its offensive firepower. A goal by Katlin Donovan ’10 and two by Katie Reinprecht ’12 evened the score at 4-4 before the midpoint of the second half. But Maryland (23-0) again replied. Freshman Megan Frazer scored the go-ahead goal with 13 minutes remaining, and the Terrapins added two more scores in the closing minutes to advance to the national final. Kathleen Sharkey ’12 scored the last goal for Princeton (16-3), which made its first Final Four appearance since 2001.

UPDATE: After the game, Princeton coach Kristen Holmes-Winn hailed her team’s effort. “We have an amazing core of young women who give everything they have,” she said. “They are an incredible foundation. We will be able to build on this as a program. Once you get a taste of this, it’s hard to go back. We will be fighting and clawing to keep getting better.”

Rachel Orland ’10 will provide more coverage of the Tigers’ Final Four season in PAW’s Jan. 13 print issue.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY will compete at the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 23 — the final collegiate cross country meet for Tigers star Liz Costello ’10 and fellow seniors Reilly Kiernan and Alexa Glencer. Costello, a captain and three-time Ivy Heps individual champion, placed 11th at the national meet last year. She has been Princeton’s top finisher in every race this season. “She’s been a terrific leader,” coach Peter Farrell told PAW. “She’s definitely at a higher level [this year].”

Princeton (3-6, 2-4 Ivy) at Dartmouth (2-7, 2-4 Ivy) Nov. 21, 12:30 p.m. Memorial Field Hanover, N.H. Above, a photo from the 1957 Princeton-Dartmouth game. This week, the forecast in Hanover calls for 45-degree weather at kickoff.

In Princeton’s win over Yale Nov. 14, the Tigers were solid in nearly every phase of the game. The running game made consistent gains, taking some pressure off quarterback Tommy Wornham ’12, and Wornham managed the offense well, steering clear of interceptions. The main flaws on offense — four fumbles lost — were counterbalanced by Princeton’s defense, which recovered one fumble and snagged three interceptions.

“In the games that we’ve won, winning the turnover battle has been paramount — that and not giving up big plays,” head coach Roger Hughes said. “I know they’re two cliché statistics, but they’re crucial.”

Protecting the ball will be important this week against Dartmouth, an improving team that has shown occasional dominance in the running game. Sophomore tailback Nick Schwieger ran for a school-record 242 yards in a 28-6 win over Columbia Oct. 24. Two weeks later, Big Green freshman quarterback Greg Patton broke that rushing record — by one yard — in a double-overtime win over Cornell.

History

Princeton and Dartmouth are even in the all-time series (42 wins for each and four ties), but the Tigers have beaten the Big Green five straight times, including a decisive 28-10 win last year. Dartmouth head coach Buddy Teevens recognized that trend in this week’s Ivy football teleconference, calling Princeton “a quality opponent that’s really owned us.” But, he added, “What we need to do is focus on how we play. We can’t get distracted too greatly with what the past history has been.”

By Brittany Urick ’10

A 4-0 trouncing of Yale Nov. 13 helped the MEN’S SOCCER team punch its ticket for Princeton’s first NCAA tournament appearance in eight years. Sophomore forward Antoine Hoppenot stole the show thanks to a hard-earned hat trick, but the win, which was televised before a national audience on Fox Soccer Channel, can be attributed to a solid defensive effort, impressive control of the midfield, and an unrelenting offensive onslaught that involved every player on the field. The Tiger teamwork, a product of veteran leadership and talented youth, has been a hallmark of Princeton throughout the season.

The Tigers began the year with high hopes, posting a perfect 4-0 record in their first four matches. Princeton hit a slump toward the end of September, however, and dropped two Ivy League contests to Dartmouth and Brown. The skid stopped when a 3-0 home victory over Columbia on Oct. 17 renewed Princeton’s confidence. One week later, the Tigers earned arguably their most remarkable win of the season when they defeated then-No. 11 Harvard, 2-1, in a double-overtime game in Cambridge.

Princeton women’s basketball made a significant jump in the Ivy League standings last season — from a tie for sixth place in 2007-08 to third place in 2008-09 — and third-year head coach Courtney Banghart sees opportunities for more progress this winter.

Lauren Edwards ’12 (Photo © Beverly Schaefer)

“We’ve got a really great blend of young, athletic kids who can make plays, with older, experienced, the-time-is-now kids,” Banghart said. “The future looks really bright for this group.”

Four of last season’s top five scorers return, including Addie Micir ’11, a dangerous three-point shooter who averaged 11.8 points per game, and versatile guard/forward Lauren Edwards ’12. Edwards, a coveted recruit during her high school career in Los Angeles, excelled in the second half of the Ivy season, scoring 10 points or more in six of the last seven games and earning a spot on the Ivy League All-Rookie Team.

Center Devona Allgood ’12, another member of last year’s Ivy League All-Rookie Team, will anchor Princeton’s post play. She led the Tigers with 6.9 rebounds per game and 44 blocks as a freshman.

Senior guard Tani Brown and senior center Cheryl Stevens are the team’s captains, and the Tigers have added four freshmen to their roster: guards Kate Miller, Lauren Polansky, and Niveen Rasheed, and center Megan Bowen.

Princeton (2-6, 1-4 Ivy) vs. Yale (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) Nov. 14, 1 p.m. Princeton Stadium Princeton, N.J. TV: YES Network (Photo © Beverly Schaefer)

Winning a rivalry game doesn’t change an entire season, but for Princeton, it could provide an important boost. The Tigers are headed for their third consecutive losing campaign, and a win over Yale won’t prevent that. But beating the Bulldogs would send the seniors off with a positive memory from their final home game — and give the younger players a season highlight, too.

“The Yale game, for Princeton, always has been a big rivalry,” said head coach Roger Hughes. “It has been a game that many coaches [and] many players, many teams, many championships are benchmarked by.” Hughes is 3-6 against the Bulldogs; his 2006 team’s comeback win at the Yale Bowl propelled Princeton to a share of the Ivy League championship.

Yale, under the direction of rookie head coach Tom Williams, is looking for momentum before heading into its finale against Harvard. The Bulldogs are among the Ivy’s top defensive teams, but they dropped a home game against Brown last week, surrendering a season-worst 35 points. Despite new leadership, fans can expect to see the same style of play from Yale, according to the Princeton coaches. On offense, the Bulldogs have a dangerous passing attack led by sophomore quarterback Patrick Witt, a transfer from Nebraska who averages 165 passing yards per game. Defensively, Yale is led by experienced, disciplined, and aggressive starting linemen and linebackers (four seniors and three juniors).

Princeton FIELD HOCKEY, ranked No. 4 in the latest Kookaburra/NFHCA Division I Poll, will host Stanford in the opening round of the NCAA tournament at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14 in Class of 1952 Stadium. (The Princeton/Stanford winner meets the winner of Boston College and Syracuse Nov. 15, also in Princeton.) The Ivy League-champion Tigers completed a perfect 7-0 league season with a 7-0 win against Penn Nov. 6. Princeton (14-2 overall) has beaten three ranked opponents and was undefeated in eight home matches. The Tigers’ only losses came at No. 1 Maryland (3-2 in overtime Oct. 7) and at Providence (2-1 Sept. 20).

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY, also ranked No. 4 in the nation, will compete for an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Meet in Princess Anne, Md., Nov. 14. The top two teams in the regional race advance to the NCAA meet. The Princeton women swept the top five spots in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships Oct. 30 to win their fourth consecutive league title. Read more about the team in a Runner’s World interview with three-time Heps champion Liz Costello ’10.

Princeton MEN’S BASKETBALL tips off its season Nov. 14 at Central Michigan, and many Tiger fans are hoping for big contributions from the team’s freshmen, including forwards Ian Hummer and Will Barrett.

(Photo courtesy Wikipedia)

Princeton (2-5, 1-3 Ivy) at Penn (5-2, 4-0 Ivy) Nov. 7, 3:30 p.m. Franklin Field Philadelphia, Pa.

Princeton’s 17-13 win over Cornell Oct. 31 came with a pair of important firsts: the Tigers’ first Ivy League victory and their first come-from-behind win. The fourth quarter was particularly rewarding, head coach Roger Hughes said: “We had a big fourth-down stop to get the ball back. We were able to run most of the time off the clock in our four-minute offense, and our quarterback [Tommy Wornham ’12] and our wide receiver Trey Peacock ’11 were able to make some explosive plays, which we hadn’t been able to do so far.”

Peacock caught three passes, two of them on touchdown plays. His 78-yard game-winning catch and run was the longest passing play in five years for the Princeton offense.

This week, the Tigers face a hot Penn team that has won five consecutive games and looks poised to challenge Harvard for the Ivy championship. A Princeton win could cripple the Quakers’ Ivy ambitions, but according to Hughes, the Tigers are not motivated by a chance to play the spoiler role.

“The Penn-Princeton rivalry has always been a big game … so I don’t know if the spoiler role has anything to do with it,” he said. “Our kids like to play each other, and our kids know that it’s a high-energy, very physical and emotional game when we get together.”

Three of Princeton’s most successful teams have a chance to become Ivy League champions on Friday, Oct. 30.

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY kicks off the day’s action at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships, held annually at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. The Princeton women have won three straight Heps titles and will be the favorite again this year. Liz Costello ’10 has a chance to be just the second woman to win three individual Ivy titles in cross country. She ran the 5-kilometer course in 16:59.9 last year, a Heps record. In addition to Costello, five returning Tigers placed in the top 10 at Heps last year: Reilly Kiernan ’10, Alexa Glencer ’10, Sarah Cummings ’11, Ashley Higginson ’11, and Liz Deir ’11.

Princeton (1-5, 0-3 Ivy) vs. Cornell (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) Oct. 31, 1 p.m. Princeton Stadium Princeton, N.J.

Princeton has stumbled in its 1-5 start, surrendering more than 30 points per game and scoring fewer than 10. Head coach Roger Hughes said this week that his team needs to find more big plays on offense. Saturday’s game against Cornell could be a good time to look for them: The Big Red defense has allowed 410 yards per contest, second-worst in the Ivy League. (Dartmouth ranks eighth with 428 yards allowed.)

After back-to-back road games at Brown and Harvard — last year’s Ivy co-champions — Princeton’s schedule seems to be getting a bit softer. Three of the Tigers’ next four opponents (Cornell, Yale, and Dartmouth) are 1-2 in Ivy play and .500 or worse overall.

History

In three Ivy games, the Tigers have been on the wrong side of three historic performances. Princeton’s losses to Columbia and Harvard were its worst defeats in each series, and at Brown, Bears receiver Buddy Farnham had 309 all-purpose yards, one of the top 10 single-game totals in Ivy history.

Princeton’s history against Cornell is a little more promising. The Tigers hold a 56-33-2 record in the all-time series and have won three of the last five meetings.