Women's soccer hangs tough with powerhouse UCLA

California is 3000 miles and a seven hour plane trip from Princeton. Usually when friends and family members travel that far, they bring something back with them — a reminder of the trip to share with others.

The women's soccer team packed an un-welcome souvenir in its bags for its Ivy League opponents.

True, the team did finish 0-1-1 in the inaugural UCLA Women's Cup this weekend, but the Tigers hope to have picked up something that will prove more important in the final Ivy League standings.

The non-conference games will not count against Princeton when the league season is over, but the lessons learned from playing one of the best teams in the country will almost certainly linger.

The No. 25 Tigers (6-1-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) dropped a respectably close 2-0 match to UCLA (9-0 overall), but only after fighting California Polytechnic (3-5-2 overall) on Friday to a scoreless tie in double overtime.

The team continued its physical play from the Rutgers matchup on October 2 against its first West Coast opponent, out-fouling the Mustangs, 20-9. With the shutout, Cal Poly has not scored in more than 380 minutes, which includes three straight double-overtime matches.

Sunday's game against UCLA loomed large on the schedule at the start of the season. Going into the trip, Princeton saw this game as an opportunity to measure itself against the best competition in the country.

The Bruins would not disappoint.

Starting a season high four freshmen, the Tigers showcased their strengths in the first half, using defense and outstanding goalkeeping from senior Catherine Glenn to keep UCLA off the scoreboard before halftime.

A scant 43 seconds into the second stanza, however, Bruin forward Stephanie Rigamat found the back of the goal with a shot from 20 yards out. The goal was only the second that Glenn has allowed this season.

Rigamat would burn Princeton for one more score at fifty-six minutes, twenty-seven seconds, widening the final margin to 2-0. With the win, the Bruins pushed their home-unbeaten streak to 17 games, dating back to November 1998.

On offense, Princeton may have exhausted itself in the first game. While the Tigers outshot the Mustangs 20-10 in the tie on Friday, they managed only 5 total shots — and only one in the first half — against UCLA.

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"It was a great game," head coach Julie Shackford said. "We played perfectly in the first half and after the overtime match two days ago, we simply lost our legs in the second half."

Bruin goalkeeper Cici Peterson only had to make one save to keep Princeton off the scoreboard in its first loss and second offensive shutout of the season.

Glenn, on the other hand, faced 18 shots from the Bruins and tallied six saves. The two UCLA goals notwithstanding, the senior has looked imposing in six shutouts this season.

Princeton will need to rediscover some of the scoring punch it had in the early season matches if the team hopes not only to compete, but also to win against the elite teams in the country.

"Today we showed that we can compete with the nation's best," Shackford said. "It shows us what we are doing well and what we can work on to get better."

The freshmen standouts who have contributed heavily to the team's success will be largely responsible for restarting the offense. Forwards Emeralda Negron, Janine Willis and Kristina Fontanez accounted for 11 of the Tigers' 20 shots — but no goals — against Cal-Poly.

The Tigers' next test comes fast on the heels of the California trip. William and Mary, No. 22, presents an unusual challenge to Princeton's strong team defense; the Tribe features five players with two or more goals on the season.

Princeton faces William and Mary Wednesday night on Lourie-Love field.

The Tribe also lost to UCLA, 2-0, on Sept. 30.