On a cold, wet Saturday night, sophomore forward Esmeralda Negron followed up into the net junior midfielder Liz Bell's shot off the crossbar seven minutes, 53 seconds into overtime to give the women's soccer team a gritty 2-1 win over rival Penn.
The goal was Negron's team-leading seventh of the season. It was also her fourth game-winning tally, two of which have now come in overtime.
Last Tuesday, Negron netted the game-winner against instate rival Rutgers, whom the Tigers defeated 1-0.
"Es has matured a lot from last year," senior captain and defender Heather Deerin said. "She's become a great player, especially in pressure situations. She's always had a nose for goal, but she also works really hard defensively."
With the win against Penn, Princeton improves to 11-0-0 on the season, including a mark of 4-0-0 in the Ivy League. The Quakers drop to 5-5-1 overall, 1-1-1 in conference play. The Tigers now stand just six games away from a perfect regular season.
"It was one of our goals at the beginning of the season to win all of our games," Deerin said. "We have a tough schedule, but we knew that if we played well then we would have a chance to win every game. But at this point we're just on a roll and we're trying to keep it going."
In contrast to its last several games, Princeton got off to a quick start in this one. Less than six minutes in, senior captain and midfielder Kelly Sosa found senior forward Krista Ariss for an early 1-0 lead. Ariss is now second behind Negron in goals scored with six.
The score went unchanged for the rest of the half, but 12 minutes into the second period, Penn's Katie Cross scored her league-leading 11th goal of the season to knot the game at one.
"Their goal came off a set piece," Deerin said. "They sent a deep ball in and Cross is really tough on the ball. I think we were too conservative on that particular play. [Junior goalkeeper] Jean [Poster] couldn't even see the shot when it was being taken, and she had no chance to stop it."
Though Princeton maintained consistent offensive pressure throughout the second half, the Tigers were unable to put the game away in regulation.
With under five minutes to go in the game, sophomore defender Brea Griffiths chipped the ball over the head of Quaker goalie Vanessa Scotto for what appeared to be the game-winning goal. The goal was disallowed when officials deemed that a Tiger player had interfered with Scotto.
Two minutes later, Scotto atoned for the near-goal when she made a great save on a shot by sophomore midfielder Kristina Fontanez.
In overtime, Princeton was awarded a free kick from 25 yards out. As she did when she used a free kick to set up the goal in the Rutgers match, Bell took advantage of the opportunity.
"On those plays, she's shooting," Deerin said. "She's trying to score and she's hitting the ball well right now."
Bell's shot caromed of the bottom of the crossbar, and Scotto swatted the ball away from the net. Negron was in perfect position to knock home the game-winner.
Though Princeton did not play as sharp a game technically as it has in its last few, the team fought hard through slippery conditions and the emotion of the Penn-Princeton rivalry.
The Tigers outshot the Quakers 22-7 on the night, and Poster saved two shots, compared to Scotto's seven.
The Quakers played the Tigers to a draw last year, and the teams are now 2-2-1 in their last five meetings.
The schedule won't get any easier for Princeton as the squad travels to Philadelphia to take on No. 25 Villanova this Wednesday.
The Tigers, who came into the Penn game ranked No. 18 nationally, should see their ranking improve after the team's two victories this week. A win against the Wildcats would also help solidify a high seed for Princeton in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers' next home game is Saturday at 4 p.m., when the team takes on conference rival Brown.
Brown (5-4-2 overall, 0-2-1 Ivy League) comes into Saturday's matchup coming off an overtime win of its own — 1-0 over Sacred Heart.
Before traveling to Princeton, the Bears will play at home against Hartford on Tuesday night.
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