Ivy League champion Princeton makes F. Hockey final four

Daily Princetonian All those who came to 1952 Stadium Sunday were treated to an action-packed 70 minutes of tournament hockey, and witnessed Princeton's first-ever win over the Lady Lions in 15 tries. The Tigers will travel to Penn's Franklin Field this Friday, where they have the opportunity to challenge the No. 2 seed Connecticut. Princeton lost earlier in the season to UConn. "We are happy to be going back to the Final Four," Bozman said. "Few teams get to do it three years in a row." While the Tigers (16-2) exhibited good teamwork and offensive successes in the first half, another Princeton team showed itself in the second half. Riding a two-goal lead, it was clear that a physically aggressive first half had tired the Tigers. Also, the team lacked the cohesion it showed in recent games. "I don't think it was one of our better performances," Bozman said. "But it was good enough to win." Hale, the Tigers' leading scorer this season and current holder of both Princeton and the Ivy League's career scoring record, echoed Bozman's sentiments. "Today's game wasn't stellar," Hale said. "But we won, we have another chance." Princeton was a bit slow in attacking the Lady Lions' net in the beginning of the game, while Penn State had several chances to score. What saved the Tigers was one of the best showings by senior goalie Meg DeJong this season. "[DeJong] has showed us all year long she has what we need, what it takes," Hale said. All season, opponents have attempted an average of 3.9 shots per game on DeJong. Yesterday, the Lady Lions pounded 13 against the Tiger goalie. About seven minutes into the game, DeJong came out on a drive and blocked the shot, allowing senior defender Adrienne Breslin to knock it away. DeJong's most impressive save came in the second half. Penn State's Dawn Lammey rocketed a low shot off a corner, but DeJong slid forward to make the save. After the ball returned to the Lady Lions' Traci Larson, another attempt was made to score. The ball flew high, and the fans were waiting with eager anticipation until DeJong reached up while sliding on the ground, stopping the ball with her arm. Princeton's offensive breakthrough came 12 minutes, 42 seconds into the game, and marked the start of a Tiger offensive domination that would eventually produce three goals. Senior defender AnnMarie Reich stepped up to take the shot that was driven by Hale and set by senior defender Christine Hunsicker. Reich produced a powerful drive low to the ground, and Penn State goalie Jamie Smith tried for a save, but the ball deflected off her leg and into the top of the net. Sophomore midfielder Melanie Meerschwam scored a similar goal with 13:21 left in the first half. On an attempt just seconds before, Meerschwam was hacked by the Penn State defense, and Princeton was awarded a penalty corner. Assisted by Hale and Hunsicker, Meerschwam delivered another low drive that rolled off Smith's foot into the net. Down 2-0 at the half, Penn State was looking to shut down the Tiger offense, and made the game more physical. Princeton did not dominate the field offensively as it had in the first 35 minutes of play, but still managed to score one more goal. With 26:33 left in the game, Meerschwam drove the ball up the left side, while Hale pressed up the center. Two-on-two, Meerschwam passed to Hale, who blasted a high shot past her defender and Smith, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.