LIVING LARGE: Princeton University field hockey goalkeeper Olivia Caponiti enjoys the moment after she earned a shutout last Friday in a 2-0 win over Rutgers. Senior Caponiti made four saves in the victory. No. 3 Princeton, who defeated Penn State 2-1 on Sunday to improve to 3-1, plays at Penn on September 18 in its Ivy League opener and then plays at UConn on September 20. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
It didn’t take long for Olivia Caponiti to make an impact for the Princeton University field hockey team as it hosted Rutgers last Friday evening.
As Rutgers earned two penalty corners in the first three minutes of the contest, senior goalkeeper Caponiti stood tall in the cage making a save at the 3:09 mark of the first quarter to turn aside the Scarlet Knights.
“I am very confident in our PC defense and the whole line that we have,” said Caponiti, a 6’0 native of Rye, N.Y. “It was good to get out there and make a few saves and give your team the confidence to push ahead.”
The No. 3 Tigers forged ahead 1-0 on a goal by Molly Nye and then got a goal from Pru Lindsey in the fourth quarter as the Princeton defense stifled Rutgers on the way to a 2-0 win.
“I think in the second half, we just wanted to come out really firing and really ready,” said Caponiti, who made four saves against Rutgers. “We wanted to just show how well we can play and dominate and I think we really did that. We brought the energy, it was great.”
Caponiti credited the Tiger back line of junior Clem Houlden, senior Ottilie Sykes, and sophomore Gabriella Anderson with playing very well in front
of her.
“My defense is incredible 100 percent and it really starts from the forwards and the midfield, everyone on the press,” said Caponiti “That is something that
we really lean on. Our defense is the foundation. Last year it was incredible and this year we are carrying that on.”
In her second year as a starter, Caponiti is feeling more comfortable directing the defense.
“We definitely try to communicate throughout the line,” said Caponiti. “We definitely build off each other’s energy and work together. It is no one person’s job, it is no one person’s fault. We are one big wall.”
Coming off a 2025 campaign that saw Princeton make a stirring run to the NCAA final, Caponiti and her fellow returners are determined to build on that success.
“This summer we focused a lot on coming back strong,” said Caponiti. “We all worked really hard and I think we just wanted to carry the momentum of last season into this season. It is also just focusing on the small things, the things I can control and leaning on our preparation in practice. We work on so many different things. Once I get into the game, I feel confident.”
As Caponiti goes through her final season for the Tigers, she is looking to enjoy the moment day in, day out.
“It flies by but it is so exciting,” said Caponiti, who helped Princeton defeat Penn State 2-1 on Sunday to move to 3-1 and now has a 0.22 goals against average. “I think that gives me a lot of perspective because a goalie can be a very hard position. You can get in your head a lot but I am just leaning on the fact that we are out here for fun. It is the last year that I am really doing this. That is what I try to focus on. I look to lean on my teammates and have good experiences with them. It takes a little bit of the pressure off.”
Princeton head coach Carla Tagliente is excited by the effort she has been getting from her defensive unit.
“They have been playing well, we haven’t been playing powder puffs,” said Tagliente, whose team defeated Old Dominion 4-0 in its season opener on September 4 and then battled North Carolina to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime before falling in a penalty shootout on September 6.
“ODU is a pretty powerful team they can score in bunches and then we had UNC and these guys too. It is not like we have played the bottom 20 in the country. To keep a clean sheet against these teams is impressive. ODU is a very different style than UNC and UNC is a very different style than these guys. Those nuances are just tricky. I think you saw that with some of our new players in the game today up front, the pressing wasn’t clean The back crew was like a cleanup crew.”
Goalie Caponiti has been cleaning up in the cage, utilizing her intense preparation. “I think it is more challenging to get five, six shots than to get 25 shots at times because you are not seeing a lot,” said Tagliente. “Before she became our No. 1 goalie, I never knew how focused she was. She is dialed in. She watches more tape than any goalie I have ever had. She is very organized and prepared for what she is going to see.”
In the win over Rutgers, the Tiger attack showed flashes of brilliance. “The combination of Pru, Caitlin [Thompson], Anna [Faulstich] and Molly can be that electric,” said Tagliente. “It requires another level of effort for them. The pieces have to fall into place. We see that all of the time in practice but we have to see more of it from those guys in the games.”
Reflecting on her team’s solid start, Tagliente is looking for her squad to fine-tune things to raise
its game.
“I am happy with our overall defensive presence and structure and our ability to keep the ball out of the goal,” said Tagliente. “There are patches of play that I think are really electric. We just need more consistency and with that I think we just need more time together. Our corners have not been great, we have to put them away. Our execution was better today, we got shots on goal off the corners today. We have to solve that puzzle with corners.”
With Princeton having started a four-game road swing with the win at Penn State, Tagliente believes being away from home could help the Tigers come together.
“I think we play better on the road, this field is a lively field,” said Tagliente, whose team plays at Penn on September 18 in its Ivy League opener and then plays at UConn on September 20. “For the style of play that we play where you play a passing game, one missed trap or one missed touch, it breaks our rhythm. I think we struggle getting rhythm here at home. We have to figure it out, you want to host (in the NCAA tournament) and you want to go far so we will.”
Caponiti believes that Princeton will figure things out as it deals with the void left by the graduation of four-time All-American and U.S. Olympian Beth Yeager.
“Beth was an incredible player but all of our coaches always emphasize that we are going to win a championship with each individual person,” said Caponiti. “We don’t have one star on the team. It is going to be really a team effort, I think that is what is so special is that every person does their job and we come together. We have a lot of potential.”