Tigers fall in final minute

After 89 minutes, the women's soccer team seemed headed for overtime against Rutgers on Tuesday night. After 90 minutes, however, the team was headed back to Princeton.

Scarlet Knight midfielder Nina Montero scored with 33 seconds left in the game to give her team a 2-1 win over the reeling Tigers (3-6-2 overall, 1-2-0 Ivy League). It was Rutgers' first win over Princeton since 2001, when the Scarlet Knights (5-9-1) knocked the Tigers out of the NCAA Tournament.

The decisive goal came when a Princeton foul at 88 minutes, 53 seconds gave Rutgers a free kick at midfield, though not before vigorous protests from the Scarlet Knight bench earned the team a collective yellow card. Rutgers midfielder Danae Risoli took the kick, curving the ball toward the far post. Forward Domenique Esposito headed the ball towards the goal line, where Montero managed to redirect it with a volley into the back of the net, sending the Tigers to their second straight loss.

Early lead

Princeton led for much of the game, thanks to a Scarlet Knight miscue in the very first minute of play. The Tigers sent a through ball intended for sophomore midfielder Diana Matheson that was intercepted by a Rutgers defender. But Matheson continued to charge, forcing the Scarlet Knights to play the ball back to goalkeeper Nora Crawford. But the ball was passed with too much pace partly due to the wet field conditions, and Crawford was unable to reach it before it rolled in for an own goal.

The Scarlet Knights then largely took over the game, peppering sophomore goalkeeper Maren Dale with two shots in the next 20 minutes, with one going wide and another saved by Dale. Rutgers had an especially dangerous chance in the 30th minute when an Esposito cross deflected off a Princeton defender to forward Kristin Edmonds, who was wide open. A hard-charging Dale temporarily averted the tragedy, as she converged on the ball and gobbled it up right as Edmonds got her foot on it. Overall, Dale earned three saves on six shots.

In the second half, however, Rutgers finally broke through for the equalizer. Esposito collected a pass from Montero just inside the 18-yard line and sent a shot over Dale's head to knot the score at one.

The Tiger offense continued to struggle throughout the game, as has plagued the team all season. Though Princeton was handed a gift in the own goal, they only managed three shots, none of them in the first half and none of them on goal. With this dearth of shots, the Tigers failed to effectively test Crawford on the type of rainy night that causes the ball to slip out of the hands of many a goalkeeper. The lack of offense also kept the ball in Princeton's own half, giving a hard-pressed defense little respite.

The Tigers hope to rebound from Tuesday's loss on Saturday when they host Columbia. It is a must-win situation for Princeton to have any shot, albeit a long one, at a piece of the Ivy League title.