PRINCETON, N.J. – For the second straight year, two Ivies are heading to the NCAA quarterfinals as both No. 2 Princeton and No. 3 Harvard captured first-round wins on Friday afternoon. Both teams aim to punch their tickets to the NCAA Final Four on Sunday.
Princeton upended Fairfield by a 3–1 final at Bedford Field. The Tigers dominated throughout the match, outshooting the Stags 16–4 and allowing just one shot on goal. Izzy Morgan scored just 2:38 into the contest before Fairfield evened things early in the second quarter. Beth Yeager gave the Tigers a 2–1 lead on a penalty corner in the second quarter, before Ella Hampson capped things off with an empty-netter in the fourth. The Tigers now face Syracuse in a rematch of a September 12 game at Bedford.
Harvard dominated New Hampshire in what ended up being a come-from-behind 8–2 win over the Wildcats. Harvard was trailing 2–0, 23 minutes into the match; however, back-to-back goals by Sage Piekarski in a two-minute span leveled things at halftime. The Crimson took control in the second half with six more goals. Piekarski finished her day with a hat trick plus an assist, Emily Bronckers found the cage twice, and three other Crimson players scored.
Yale also made its NCAA tournament debut today but fell to the defending NCAA champion, Northwestern Wildcats, 5–1. Tabs Collier scored the Bulldogs’ lone goal, deflecting in a shot off a corner attempt. Yale had a historic 2025 campaign, making its first-ever Ivy League tournament appearance, first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, spent nearly the entire season in the NFHCA top 25, and entered the NCAA tournament with a No. 12 national ranking.