W. soccer takes revenge on reigning Ivy champ Dartmouth

Reading about Princeton and Dartmouth's history in women's soccer is a lot like reading about some age-old feud: the Montagues and the Capulets minus the love story; the Hatfields and the McCoys minus the guns and Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield minus the ear thing. In other words, Princeton and Dartmouth have a bit of a history together.

The Tigers and Big Green renewed their rivalry Saturday at Lourie-Love Field. Princeton avenged last season's disappointing 3-2 loss to Dartmouth by smearing the Big Green all over the Tigers' home field in a 4-1 victory.

Last season, Princeton was up 2-1 at halftime, but the Big Green came back and won, scoring a goal with 48 seconds remaining in the game. Dartmouth then went on to win the Ivy League championship, ending Princeton's three-year run as the title holders. The Tigers are 10-12-1 against the Big Green in the all-time record, including Dartmouth's eight-year winning streak against Princeton from 1991-1998.

In Saturday's game, Princeton (7-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) and Dartmouth (4-4-1, 1-1) battled throughout the first half, with neither team seeming to be capable of putting one away. Six different Tigers shot on goal during the first half, and it was the sixth and final shot by sophomore forward Meghan Farrell that paid off.

"It was right in front of the goal," Farrell said. "[Senior forward Esmeralda Negron] was in the middle trying for the ball. It sort of slipped out to the side, and I was just there."

Farrell rocketed home Princeton's first goal of the game just five minutes after being substituted in and four minutes before the half ended. The Tigers limited Dartmouth to four shots during the first period.

The second half saw an invigorated Tiger squad. It seemed that Princeton's appetite was only whetted by its first goal, not sated.

A goal by junior midfielder Emily Behncke off a big boot by freshman midfielder Diana Matheson in the first nine minutes of the second half extended the Tigers' lead to 2-0, but it was the combination of Princeton's relentless defense and its strong offensive push in the second half that spelled the end for Dartmouth.

"I think we just play really well together," Farrell said. "We get really motivated for an Ivy League game and for all our games. [But] Ivy games we look forward to a little more."

Shots by Negron and Matheson kept the Big Green keeper on her toes, while junior goalie Madeleine Jackson made one save in the first half and one in the second before Dartmouth was able to put one by her. The goal came when Big Green keeper Anne Marbarger sailed a free kick into the Tigers' own box. Dartmouth's Sarah Johnson gained control and sent it into the back of the net, ruining Jackson's perfect playing record for the season and cutting into the Tigers' lead, 2-1.

It took Princeton exactly one minute, 21 seconds to respond. A pass by Negron gave Behncke enough room to hammer home her second goal of the game, padding the Tigers' lead at 3-1.

Behncke wasn't done yet, though. After scoring one herself, the junior set up Farrell with a pass, and Farrell put it away seven minutes before the game ended for her second goal of the day.

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Although the last few minutes saw a flurry of shots — eight in the last 10 minutes — only two of those belonged to Dartmouth, and none went past Jackson, ending the game at 4-1 for Princeton.

"We only play [each] Ivy team once," Farrell said. "Hopefully we can keep the winning streak going."

The Tigers will have plenty of opportunities to find out whether they can do this soon, with all but one of their conference games occurring this month. Six of their next seven games will take place in Princeton, so fans should find it easy to attend. With the Tigers the only Ivy team in the top 25 at No. 11 in the NSCAA Coach's poll, these are sure to be good matchups.

"We have been traveling a lot lately," Farrell said. "We're all excited to be home."