NCAA Bound

On a weekend when, among other things, freshman Patrick Dinu set a school record in his first swim meet, the women's hockey team went on the road and won twice, Paul Inchauspe qualified for the NCAA men's tennis championships, the women's volleyball team swept to clinch its spot in the Ivy tournament, the men's and women's basketball teams both got big-time performances while combining to win three games — where in the world to start? 

How about with Alexandra Barry of the women's soccer team? 

The Princeton women hosted the Ivy League tournament this weekend and overpowered two opponents to clinch an NCAA tournament spot. First it was Harvard in the semifinals, a game won by the Tigers 3-1, and then it was yesterday's game against Brown, won by the Tigers 2-0.

It's safe to say that Brown did not enjoy its time on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium this year. The regular season game, as you may recall, was an 8-0 Princeton win. Add in yesterday's final, and that makes it 10-0. Shots between the two games favoried Princeton 34-13.

Before the game yesterday, TigerBlog had a conversation with someone about what the after-effects of such a lopsided first meeting would be. Would it give a false sense of security to the Tigers? Would it be a great motivator for Brown? Would it not matter?

In the end, who knows? 

The goal-scorers for Princeton were Drew Coomans and Lily Bryant. Goalkeeper Tyler McCamey made three saves for the shutout.

So where does Barry figure into all of this? 

The first goal of the game came from Coomans, with 11 minutes to go in the first half. It was an incredible play on Coomans' part, trapping the attempted clear from Brown and then lofting the most perfect shot you'll ever see into the net.

Barry was on the other side of the play. When the goal was scored, the look on her face ... well, you can see it for yourself:

Both of 'em from our Ivy League Tournament final win today at Roberts as Drew Coomans and Lily Bryant scored in our 2-0 victory! pic.twitter.com/vNo3Ld7yvg

— Princeton WSoccer (@PrincetonWSoc) November 10, 2024

That is pure jubo, no? 

Yes, it is.

The second goal was also a pretty one, as Bryant one-timed a corner kick perfectly into the net as well just after intermission. The celebration behind the goal can also be described as "jubo."

Oh, and in case you've forgotten what "jubo" is, that's short for "jubilation."

The game Friday saw Pietra Tordin score twice and Kayla Wong score once as the Tigers built a 3-0 lead. The two wins came in Year 2 of the Ivy League tournament, and Princeton becomes the first team to win the regular season and tournament titles.

The reward is the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers will find out their postseason draw this afternoon at 4 with the Selection Show on NCAA.com.

The Ivy League champion field hockey team found out last night what its own NCAA fate was to be. Unlike the women's soccer team, who can watch the selections and relax knowing that "Princeton" will come up at some point, the field hockey team had to sweat it out for eight hours yesterday.

Princeton went 7-0 in the league during the regular season to win the championship and then defeated Columbia 4-0 Friday in the first semifinal. Harvard then took down Brown 1-0 in overtime in the second, setting up a rematch of last year's first Ivy tournament final.

And just like a year ago, and just like the regular season this year, the final score was 2-1. Last year, it was Harvard who won the tournament on a goal with 34 seconds to go. This year in the regular season it was Princeton who won in overtime.

And yesterday, it was Harvard who won a thrilling game, also in overtime. It was scoreless until Harvard scored with 2:35 to play, but Princeton came back to tie it when Beth Yeager set up Ella Cashman with just 59 seconds to go to force the OT. 

The game ended a bit before 2. The selections wouldn't be announced until 10. That was a long time to wait it out. 

In all likelihood, it looked like it would be Princeton, Ohio State and UMass for the last two at-large spots. As it turned out, it was Princeton and UMass.

The wait wasn't very long for the Tigers, who found out quickly that they'd be matched with Boston College at St. Joe's Friday. Just like that, the sadness of losing eight hours earlier turned to, well, jubo.