W. soccer faces Washington with Final Four spot on line

Women's soccer is one game away from its first-ever appearance at the NCAA Final Four, referred to in soccer circles as the College Cup.

With its 2-0 blanking of Boston College last Saturday, No. 7 Princeton (18-2) advances into the quarterfinals to play No. 15 Washington (17-4-1). The Tigers and the Huskies have never played before, but neither team has allowed a goal since the tournament began. Princeton defeated its three previous opponents by a combined score of 8-0 and outshot them, 71-9. Washington defeated its three tournament foes by a combined 7-0 margin and outshot them, 45-28.

With the higher seed, the Tigers once again are the hosts, and the game will be played at Lourie-Love Field this Friday at 7 p.m. Princeton has not lost any of its last 18 games at home, which extends back into last season.

The Huskies have been forced to move around quite a bit during the tournament. Washington played its first two tournament games 2,183 miles away from its home in Auburn, Alabama. The travel did not seem to hurt their game much, as the Huskies defeated Birmingham-Southern (12-7-3), 5-0, in the first round and Auburn (15-4-2), 1-0, in the second.

Washington's only home tournament game occurred in the Sweet 16 when it defeated Maryland (9-7-4), 1-0. Husky forward Tina Frimpong put the ball in the back of the net off a deflection by the goalie in the 19th minute of the game, and Washington's defense stood fast until the game ended.

Frimpong has led the Huskies' offense throughout the year. She is the only player in Washington history to earn Pac-10 Player of the Year honors two seasons in a row. She holds the school records for career goals with 42 and points with 97.

In the regular season, the Huskies played three of the teams still in the tournament. They beat Ohio State and Portland in the regular season, but lost to UCLA. Overall, they played 15 of the 64 teams who entered, recording a 12-3 record.

Washington depends heavily on its younger players. Nine freshmen and six sophomores make up about half of the Huskies' squad. Four first-years start for Washington, and eight have seen time.

No. 14 UCLA (16-6-0) and No. 6 Ohio State (19-3-3) – both teams that the Huskies have played – are playing each other in the other side of Princeton's bracket.

The top three seeds in the tournament have now all been knocked out, leaving Princeton as the fourth-highest seed still alive.

The semis and finals will be held in State Capital Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on December 3rd. The final game is two days later.