Negron steps up on offense in first year for women's soccer

The Princeton women's soccer team is off to its best season in years, currently ranked 25th nationally with a record of 9-1-1. The Tigers' only loss this season came at the hands of No. 2 UCLA. To top that off, on Oct. 10 they defeated No. 22 William and Mary.

Ask what the key to their success this year is, and the answer is an easy one. It is undoubtedly the enormous contributions made by the newfound freshmen stars who have been leading the team to victory after victory over these past several weeks. One of these spectacular freshmen who stands out every time she takes the field is Esmeralda Negron.

Negron is a starting forward who has taken on a star role in her first college season. Ever since she took up soccer in first grade, Negron has loved the sport.

"Soccer has always been such a huge part of my life, and it has led to an enormous amount of wonderful memories."

Along with being gifted with natural talent for the sport, Negron has continually worked at her soccer game over the years to improve and get to where she is today. Hours and hours of speed training, ball handling, shot practice and actual games have led her to become the all-around player that Negron is now. She hails from right here in the state of New Jersey, where at Old Tappan High School she led her team to several county finals as well as the state tournament.

Being fairly close to home, and showing a true dedication to work as hard as possible, the freshman has made a very smooth transition from high school to college.

"I was really impressed with the great balance between soccer and academics that Princeton could offer me," Negron said when asked why she chose to attend school here.

She is the first to admit that playing collegiate soccer is anything but a stroll in the park.

"College play is a lot more competitive and on a much higher level than high school. A major difference is that here you always need to fight for a spot on the team."

That competition only leads to extreme dedication on her part, which combined with an unbreakable work ethic makes Negron extremely valuable to the team. Due to the effort she puts into every game and practice, she has already been noticed as a star, and one to lead the team into great success this year as well as the next three.

However, the last thing Negron wants to do is take credit for being a one-woman-show. Being very modest, she stated how the team works together to achieve its goals and that everyone is necessary and a big part of its success on the field this year.

"Everyone pushes one another and all of the girls on the team are really close," she said. "We make sure to support one another and I am always confident that someone is looking out for me. Not to mention that the road trips are really fun."

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In general, Negron says she could not be happier here at Princeton, where she is truly enjoying the whole college experience. "All of my classes are awesome and I truly love the professors that I have," she said.

With such a successful season going, Negron and the women's team have very high hopes for the remainder of the season.

"Our goal is to keep the Ivy title and to make it at least to the second round of the NCAA Championships," she said.

These are definitely high goals, but at the same time extremely realistic, and quite attainable for the women's soccer team this year.

It is a subject of great pride on campus that women's soccer program has enjoyed constant success over the past few years. It is also a fact that with the extreme dedication and work effort that Negron has shown already this season, there is no doubt that the Princeton women's soccer program is in very good hands in the years to come.