Don't remind anyone on the women's soccer team that history has a way of repeating itself. Saturday night in New Haven, Ivy rival Yale (4-3-1 overall, 1-0-0 Ivy League) cut the Orange and Black down by a score of 2-1 in the teams' Ivy opener. A year ago yesterday, the Tigers (3-3-1 , 0-1-0) fell 2-1 to the Bulldogs in the league opener.
Saturday's match was more than a little reminiscent of the game last year.
The first half was marked by back-and-forth play between the two teams. Princeton's sophomore midfielder Jen Om took the first shot of the game in the seventh minute. Unluckily for the Tigers, Om's rip deflected off the crossbar. Less than two minutes later, however, it was no longer Princeton threatening to score, but Yale's Mimi Macauley, firing off a shot from just outside the 18. Tiger goalkeeper, junior Maren Dale was forced to make a leaping save on Macauley's shot. Macauley would later prove to be Princeton's undoing, turning in a two-goal performance in the second half.
After a Princeton corner kick, it was the Tigers' turn to shoot once again. Junior captain and midfielder Diana Matheson got her first chance at getting one on the board in the 11th minute. Once more, the Orange and Black were unlucky, as a Bulldog defender blocked the shot.
Less than five minutes later, Yale's goalkeeper Susan Starr recorded her first save of the evening. Om split the defense, but Starr was protecting her territory, quashing Princeton's hopes for a goal as she slid out to recapture the ball for Yale.
After a pair of Bulldog corners, Yale captain Christina Huang — who was playing her first game back from an injury — tookher first shot of the night in the 22nd minute, sending the ball over the crossbar. Princeton retaliated with a Matheson shot a minute later that sailed out of bounds to the left of the net.
The rest of the half was marked by off-target shots from Yale and a team save by the Bulldogs on a shot from sophomore defender Taylor Numann.
Elis come out strong
The second half saw the Tigers fall victim to Yale's new multiple-goal trend. After scoring only three goals in the first five games of the season, the Bulldogs have not scored fewer than two goals in their past three games.
Macauley started her second half goal hunt early, forcing Dale to make her second save of the evening. One of Yale's top scoring threats, Macauley had 12 career goals coming into her senior season, the most of any returning Bulldog. One of those goals came against Princeton in the matchup last year.
Looking for a repeat performance, Emma Whitfield took off down the right side of the field and crossed the ball, forcing Dale to dive and allowing Macauley the opportunity for a tip-in.
Macauley wasn't done, however. With Whitfield once again on the right side, Macauley received the ball off a cross and fired a shot past Dale for what would be the winning goal.
The Tigers didn't give up the fight. Princeton forced Starr to make two saves in less than a minute. Three minutes after the second shot, freshman Vicki Anagnostopoulos, headed a pass from Matheson into the net to halve the Bulldog lead.
The Tiger effort after the goal, however, was stifled by Yale's defense. The Tigers' only shot in the last 15 minutes of the game came in the form of a wide blast from outside the 18 from sophomore midfielder Aarti Jain.
Shades of last year
Last season the loss to Yale turned out to be devastating: it cost the Tigers the Ivy title, which is accompanied by an automatic bid to the postseason tournament. In the end, the loss to the Bulldogs meant that for the first time in five years, Princeton did not make the NCAA tournament. The failure to make the tournament was especially disheartening since the 2004 Tigers took a trip to the Final Four.
Head coach Julie Shackford hopes, however, that if the Tigers don't win the league that a schedule with more teams from the region will help Princeton's chance at an at-large bid.
Though the Tigers have now entered league play, they will take on Loyola (Md.) Wednesday night at Lourie-Love Field for one of the regional matchups Shackford scheduled for this season as a tuneup before continuing with Ivy League play.
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