Coming into this weekend, as many as four teams, including Penn, could have tied for the Ivy League field hockey championship. Five scenarios, two of which involved random draws, could have determined the conference's NCAA Tournament bid.
In the end, the simplest scenario unfolded and the results weren't pretty for the Quakers.
With a chance to clinch a share of the Ivy League title, the Quakers weren't able to beat No. 18 Princeton, losing 3-1 Friday at Franklin Field.
The Tigers dominated the first half, as senior Paige Schmidt scored twice off of penalty corners. But the Quakers responded with a goal 15 minutes into the second half. Junior Margaretha Ehret scorched a 25-yard pass right through the Tigers' defense to senior Nicole Black who one-timed the pass by Tigers' goalie Cynthia Wray.
The bang-bang play gave Penn (8-9, 4-3 Ivy) some momentum. But after Tiger junior Holly McGarvie scored off of a rebound from a penalty corner only three minutes later, any hope of a Penn comeback went to the wayside.
With three goals off of penalty corners, Princeton won a battle in the way that Penn coach Val Cloud feared.
"I knew coming in that corners would determine this game," Cloud said. "We're going to lose if we give up as many corners as we did. We didn't play our best game today, which is unfortunate."
With the win, Princeton (13-4, 6-1) clinched its third-straight outright Ivy title. It has now won 12 out of the last 14. It has also been 14 years since Penn last won the league outright and advanced to the NCAAs.
Even though the Quakers were very close to an Ivy League title, this season still was a disappointment for Penn.
"I'd call it mediocre," Cloud said. Beating Princeton "could have made the difference. Now we're [tied for fourth] in the league. Average, mediocre."
The Quakers ended the season with an overall losing record for the first time since 2002.
For the seniors from the Class of 2008, this game stands out as a disappointing end to their career. Yet they're still satisfied with some of their highlights, including a share of the Ivy League championship in 2004.
"The eight seniors are really proud that we were the first class to have no one quit," senior co-captain Jamie Calahan said.
But they missed their ultimate goal of adding an NCAA bid to their achievements.
