GIFT OF GAB: Princeton University field hockey player Gabriella Anderson dribbles the ball in a game last fall. Sophomore defender Anderson helped anchor the Tiger back line last weekend as No. 2 Princeton started the season in Chapel Hill, N.C., in the Crossover Challenge. Princeton defeated No. 18 Old Dominion 4-0 on Friday and then battled No. 10 North Carolina two days later to a scoreless stalemate through regulation and overtime before falling to the Tar Heels in a penalty shootout. The Tigers host No. 20 Rutgers (2-2) on September 11 before playing at Penn State (3-1) on September 13. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Justin Feil
Gabriella Anderson got her chance to do more early into her second season starting for the Princeton University field hockey team.
The sophomore defender came into the 2026 campaign focused on being more vocal. It’s something she has courage to do this season.
“As a freshman I was too scared to tell everyone, ‘Hey, I think you should do this, I think you should do that,’” said Anderson, a 5’6 native of Williamsburg, Va. “But now that I’m here and I know everyone I feel confident enough to know that it’s just going to make them better and going to make the team better.”
Her confidence got a bigger test in another new way when the Princeton staff selected her to be the fifth shooter for the five-player penalty shootout against No. 10 North Carolina on Sunday after the No. 2 Tigers had battled the Tar Heels to a scoreless stalemate through regulation and overtime in Chapel Hill, N.C.
“I was the last one to go so that felt like a lot of pressure,” said Anderson. “But if you’re not nervous in that situation, I feel like that’s honestly more weird than being nervous. So obviously, I was nervous. I’m like, what happens if I miss, I can’t miss this — putting all that pressure on myself. But as soon as those thoughts come, you just really have to shut them down and start visualizing what you’re going to do and watching the goalie.”
The pressure could have felt more overwhelming after No. 2 Princeton fell behind, 2-1, in the shootout with Anderson as their final chance to keep alive their hope to send it into a sudden-death overtime. She tied it up in her first opportunity in a college shootout to the mounting cheers of her teammates standing at midfield.
“It took a lot of pressure off because I’m like, no matter what, I’m gonna try my best and no matter what, my team is always gonna love me and be there for me and they’re gonna be proud of me no matter what if I score or if I don’t,” said Anderson. “But that reminded me, hey, that’s what I’m doing this for. I wanna score and I’m gonna score because I want my teammates to be happy and I wanna make them proud.”
Her goal gave Princeton hope, but North Carolina scored on their final chance to top the Tigers in a heartbreaking shootout loss. The loss followed an opening-season 4-0 win over No. 18 Old Dominion in the Crossover Challenge hosted by UNC. Anna Faulstich scored in the first minute, one of four different goal scorers in the game with Hope Delaney, Pru Lindsey and Molly Nye also scoring.
“We played really well for opening weekend,” said Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente, whose team will host Rutgers on September 11.
“I think we dominated the Old Dominion game. They’re a really challenging team. I think they’re going to have a good season and cause some teams some trouble, and the scoreline, stats, everything is a pretty good statement game for us to open with. And at UNC, we played really well. I mean, in the moment, I think things were frustrating because we didn’t score.”
Princeton held a 15-9 shot advantage against the Tar Heels with Olivia Caponiti making three saves on the only Carolina shots to reach the goal. Princeton had six shots on goal and Reese Milone and Faulstich had golden chances to score that went awry. Just as concerning was the 8-2 edge in penalty corners, but the Tigers couldn’t score on any of them and their execution was off.
“Not one gets to the goal is substandard for us,”
said Tagliente.
“So I think we’re frustrated, but it’s game two, not game 22, so we’ve got a long road ahead of us.”
There’s plenty to build on as Anderson and the defense picked up right where it left off. Last year’s Princeton team ranked fourth nationally with an 0.89 goals against average. Anderson is part of a back line with Ottilie Sykes and Clem Houlden. They’re the starting point of Princeton’s defensive efforts that also extend up the field with their midfielders and forwards, and Caponiti is a reliable backstop in goal.
“I’m always really proud of our defense, not only our defensive lineup, but also our press,” said Anderson. “I think the reason why we do so well in our defense is because our forwards and mids tackle back and our defense, we communicate to the lines above us. And we really try and organize and it’s always good. When I make a mistake, I know I have my other defenders like Clem and Ott — Clem is right and Ott is center – and they pick up for me and if they make a mistake, I pick up for them. And of course we have Liz, our goalie, who’s made so many saves, which really saved
my butt.”
There are a lot of familiar Tigers back from a year ago. Princeton had to replace only one starter and that’s helped them pick up quickly this season.
“Having a lot of people back is really helpful because on the field, we can all connect really well and then at practice we can integrate everyone, even the new players, so when they step onto the field they integrate just as well,” said Anderson. “It’s good having mostly everyone being back, but what’s more important is that we integrate the new players because like Carla said, it’s mostly just about connections.”
Anderson can share well how to handle the challenges of being a new player for the Tigers. She impressed from the preseason last year to earn a starting spot as a freshman. Her mother is a club coach and her older sister, Dakota, is a goalie at Appalachian State. Anderson started 17 games for the Tigers’ stalwart defense last year, missing four midseason due to injury.
“She acclimated right away last season,” said Tagliente. “And honestly, you can’t tell that she’s the youngest of the three (on defense). I think she sometimes looks like she’s the oldest of the three. I mean, she’s incredible defensively — very reliable, unorthodox in a way, but it works for her. I think of the three, she was the most consistent all weekend on both sides of the ball, in terms of her front marking and how aggressive she was and her ability to make changes in the game.”
The Tigers already show an immense amount of confidence in her by having her at the left back spot that typically has to defend faster opponents than the right side, and also historically has a more difficult time transitioning the ball up to the offense. Anderson has become good at both, using a sneaky disruptive stick while playing more upright than some defenders to get the ball away and then finding success in sending the ball forward to initiate offense. But being in a shootout was new.
“Gabby is a gamer,” said Tagliente. “It doesn’t matter how much pressure she’s under, whatever she’s doing, whoever she’s going against, what the situation is, like she’s gonna rise to the occasion. She’s actually not one of our typical shootout people but we threw her in fifth because you watch her in a game, she just gets it done.”
Princeton will be trying to regain its winning ways this weekend when it hosts No. 20 Rutgers (2-2) on September 11 and then plays at Penn State (3-1) on September 13. Former Tiger standout and Lawrence High star Talia Schenck will suit up for Rutgers as a graduate student using her final season of NCAA eligibility. Last year, Princeton edged their in-state foe, 1-0, in overtime after starting the season 1-2. The Tigers come into Friday’s game aware they could easily be 2-0 to start this year, and being that close adds to their fuel to get back on track.
“I think if we swept obviously I feel like we would be in higher spirits, but I don’t think that right now we’re in a bad place because it’s only the second game of the season,” said Anderson. “We know that even if we had won, there are still things to fix. So whether we won or lost, there are improvements to be made. But I do think a lot of people, me included, are definitely feeling this loss and I’m definitely fired up and ready to go and I want to improve and keep winning. I can’t lie. I’m ready for this weekend.”