W. soccer blanks Explorers

Showing the patience and confidence it had been lacking, and led by the young offensive players who had lain dormant so far this season, women's soccer (2-4-2 overall) defeated La Salle (3-6-1), 4-0, last night at Lourie-Love Field.

After more than 70 minutes of scoreless play, the Tigers exploded with four goals — while their leading scorer sat on the bench — to earn the blowout win they had been searching for all season.

The odds finally caught up with La Salle with just over 18 minutes to play. On a fast break down the center of the field, senior midfielder Maija Garnass placed a perfect leading pass for sophomore midfielder Diana Matheson to beat out multiple Explorer defenders. Matheson faked out La Salle goalie Lauren Malizia — who had foiled the Tigers all night — and kicked a rapidly rolling shot into the lower right corner of the net, finally breaking the seal on the La Salle goal.

After Matheson's goal, the gloves came off the young Princeton offense for the first time all season. Head coach Julie Shackford had given a rest to senior forward Emily Behncke, the Tigers' leading scorer, in the second half, betting that someone else would pick up the burden of carrying the offense. Freshman midfielder Sarah Peteraf was there to carry the load.

Six minutes after Matheson's goal, a shot deflected by Malizia was quickly controlled by freshman forward Allison Williams, only feet away from the goal. In a quick heads-up move, Williams flicked the ball to Peteraf, who knocked in the second Tiger goal of the night — the first all season scored by anyone other than Matheson or Behncke.

"I gave [Behncke] a break, just because she needed it," Shackford said, "and I think that because of that [La Salle's defense] relaxed a little bit, since they had been focused in on her all game, and that opened it up for the others, who really had great patience."

Peteraf wouldn't let the Explorer defense relax for long, receiving a pass from Garnass two minutes after her first goal, dribbling down the left side of the field and nailing a shot to the upper right corner of the net past a diving Malizia.

Finally, with the final seconds ticking off the clock ten minutes later, junior forward Amanda Ferranti — making up for an embarrassing yellow card a few minutes earlier — set up sophomore midfielder Aubrey Wagenseller as she was sprinting down the right side of the field for a looping goal that found nylon with only one second left on the clock.

The goals by Peteraf and Wagenseller were the first of their collegiate careers for both.

The game was the first decisive victory of the year for Princeton. The Tigers' only other win came in a 2-1 overtime thriller against Loyola Marymount, and the two goals in that game were also the previous high water mark in goals for the team, now doubled with last night's four-goal performance.

Yet, as has been the story all season, the goals did not come easily. Princeton took 14 shots in each half, but somehow none of them found the net in the first period, despite the ball seeming to spend more time in the Explorer goal box than on the entire Tiger side of the field. Three shots by Behncke, four by sophomore midfielder Meredith Wall and five shots — as well as stellar all-around play — by sophomore midfielder Ashley Meyers all went unrewarded on the night.

Still, over the final 18 minutes, more than enough balls found the back of the net to give the Tigers a victory.

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"This really was great for our confidence." Shackford said. "After [last weekend's defeat to] Yale, it was really tough to psychologically bounce back, and I think this will really help us in that respect."