W. soccer sweeps competition in preparation for Calif.

Lawnparties.

The word makes any Princeton student's eyes light up — and rightfully so. Visions of a wonderful Sunday afternoon full of music and mayhem should inspire poetry.

But without being able to enjoy Princeton's semiannual ritual, the women's soccer team did the next best thing. The Tigers swept weekend games against North Carolina-Greensboro, 3-0, and Saint Louis, 2-1, in the Princeton Invitational, pushing the team's record to 3-0.

All three wins have come against out-of-conference opponents, and the team has two games remaining in its non-conference schedule before beginning Ivy League play.

On Friday night, the Tigers took on the Spartans of Greensboro, with temperatures dipping lower than they have all summer. Despite dominating the first half, Princeton went to the locker room with a slim 1-0 edge. The sophomore tandem of midfielders Emily Behncke and Maura Gallagher provided the early excitement.

Just over 10 minutes into the game, Behncke controlled the ball deep in the right box and let go a shot. The ball caromed off the Greensboro keeper and rolled gently to the foot of the waiting Gallagher. Gallagher redirected the ball into the far corner for her second goal of the young season.

In the second half, the Tigers continued to control the pace of play, but somehow failed to make it show up on the scoreboard for the first 30 minutes.

"It was a little frustrating because we had a lot of opportunities and we didn't finish that well," Behncke said. "But I think it was just first game jitters, being out here, first time playing on Lourie-Love again in a year."

Princeton utilized Gallagher's speed on the flanks to play long balls and junior forward Kristina Fontanez continued to break people down off the dribble to create fast-break and odd-man opportunities for the Tigers.

Behncke makes her mark

Princeton finally put another ball in the net with just under eight minutes to play in the game. After surviving Greensboro's first offensive threat of the game, the Tigers pushed up on the counterattack. Junior forward Esmeralda Negron received a ball on the left flank and sent a cross over the middle. Behncke waited patiently, settled, and knocked a right-foot shot over the keeper into the far corner. For Behncke, it was her first goal on the evening.

"It was frustrating up until that point, so I was glad to finally get one," Behncke said.

Negron capped the scoring when junior defender Elizabeth Pillion beat her defender up the right sideline with a straight speed burst. Pillion let go a rip that bounced off the diving goalie's chest and Negron was there to clean up the mess.

Versus Saint Louis

In Sunday's matchup, Princeton faced a tough test in a physical Saint Louis team. Junior defender Rochelle Willis assisted on both Tiger goals as the home team outlasted the visiting Billikens, 2-1. In the first half, Negron was on the receiving end of Willis' generosity while Pillion cashed in on the kindness in the second half. Saint Louis scored a late goal with less than two minutes left to pull to within a goal in an otherwise tension-free game.

"Rochelle gave me practically the perfect ball," Pillion said, "and [head coach Julie] Shackford always talks about driving the ball to the far post, so I couldn't have asked for anything better."

With three wins under their belt, the Tigers will now look ahead to a higher level of soccer on their upcoming trip to California.

"This weekend we're playing some tough teams in California," Pillion said. "We're looking to go out there and really prove ourselves. It should be interesting."

"We're definitely happy to get away from this weekend with two wins," Behncke said. "This was only our third game and Saint Louis' sixth, so it's nice to get those wins. And now we're just looking forward to California."

The Tigers, currently unbeaten, leave for California later in the week. Princeton will play Sacramento St. on Friday evening before playing California-Berkeley on Sunday afternoon.