Sherry scores late in game to boost women's soccer to victory over Lions

While a good offense is something to brag about, it is a good defense that wins games. Just look at the women's soccer team. While offensively a strong team, its dominating defense in each of its five games — and most specifically in its victories over Ivy League opponents— has been the deciding factor that has led them to the win.

It's not that opponents can't match up goal for goal against the quick and feisty Princeton offense, but instead that its opponents can't even score.

Thus far, the Tigers have not let up a single goal. That trend continued Friday night against Columbia, as sophomore forward Theresa Sherry scored on a corner kick in the final minutes of play to lead the Tigers to a 1-0 victory.

The story of the game was defense. Princeton was almost matched clear for clear, save for save against a tough, unrelenting Columbia back.

"I thought the whole game was a battle. Columbia did very well clearing the ball out of its defensive end and taking us out of our possession game," Sherry said. "We had the ball in our offensive end a lot I thought at times, but were having trouble with the final pass and getting the actual shot off."

Princeton limited Columbia's offense to just one good scoring chance in the first half, and only a handful in the entire game. The Tigers excelled with preventing the Lions from penetrating to the goal, utilizing a zone defense that has worked like a charm in the first weeks of play. Princeton played particularly well against Columbia's offensive strategy of lobbing balls out wide and over the defense's head, and then powering their way to goal.

Senior goalkeeper Catherine Glenn, the last line in Princeton's stellar defense, went untested throughout much of the game, but made a big save at the end of the first half to keep the score knotted at zero.

"It makes a defender's job much easier when you can have confidence in your keeper," junior defender Heather Deerin said. "Catherine has been unbelievable so far this year."

Glenn has yet to let up a goal this season, leading the Ivy League among goaltenders with an unblemished goals against average.

The Tigers' goal, scored on a corner kick with five minutes remaining in play, was a product of continual pounding of the Lions' net. Sherry, looking merely to send a ball up into the box and to find the head of a leaping teammate instead found the back of the net.

"When I set up for the corner kick, my goal was to just put it in the box so that someone on our team could get their body on it," Sherry said. "I must have just put the right curve on the ball, and maybe the keeper misjudged it a little and it sailed in the net."

The defense held on from there to protect the lead, as the Tigers took home a 1-0 victory, its second victory over an Ivy League opponent this week by that score. Princeton defeated Dartmouth, 1-0, last Sunday in Hanover, N.H., off the goal of freshman forward Kristina Fontanez.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

While it is true that there isn't much more that the Princeton defense could do better, the thing that might keep them from once again sitting atop the Ivies is themselves.

"I think that sometimes when you've gotten on a winning streak there's a tendency to get complacent and not to out with the same urgency as we normally would," senior captain Linley Gober said. "Our schedule is just going to keep getting tougher and we won't be able to afford any let-downs. This team has incredible potential if we keep focused and keep setting higher goals for ourselves."