Farrell, Jain spark Tiger win

For the first 63 minutes of the women's soccer team's game against Loyola (Md.) last night, Princeton (3-3-1 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) controlled the tempo but struggled to find the net, as shot after shot went awry of the goalposts or ended in the hands of Greyhound goalie Brittany Henderson.

"I told them at half time: It's OK if we possess the ball the whole game, but not OK if we don't score," head coach Julie Shackford said.

The team got the message, and finally, 63 minutes, 13 seconds into the game, freshman forward Vicki Anagnostopoulos found sophomore midfielder Aarti Jain as she ran down the left side, and Jain let a shot loose that flew above the reach of Henderson's finger tips. Her shot put the Tigers up by one, ending the stalemate, as Princeton went on to defeat Loyola (1-4-2) by a score of 2-1.

"[In the second half] we worked harder in a smarter way," Anagnostopoulos said. "We got in positions where we needed to be. The first half was good, the second half was great."

Anagnostopoulos got herself in to excellent position again a few minutes later, firing a shot at 69:23 from the left side, forcing Henderson, who tallied six saves on the night, to fall forward as she rejected it. Senior forward Meghan Farrell controlled the loose ball directly in front of the goal and fired a shot before the goalie could recover, giving the Tigers a two-goal advantage.

The Greyhounds had dangerous chances throughout the game, but junior goalie Maren Dale and the rest of the defense had come through for Princeton time after time. In the 77th minute, there was finally a shot Dale could not stop. As midfielder Colleen Kinealy ran down the field for Loyola and Dale came out to challenge her, Kinealy fired a step ahead, finding the net to cut the lead in half. But that is where it would stay for the remainder of the game.

"Loyola is a good team, they will be a NCAA tournament team," Shackford said. "It was good for us to be in a close game and have to hold on to a lead."

It was Dale who held the Tigers in the close game for the scoreless first half, as she played aggressively to keep the offense pushed up and came through for Princeton when Loyola came in too close.

"We've been working a lot with the back four on pushing up," Dale said.

"[When the offense can't score] it's frustrating from our point of view. We work really hard to see them put the ball away."

Princeton controlled the ball from the start, and over the course of the first half the ball was more often in Princeton's possession than otherwise, but as the game progressed, the Greyhounds found opportunities to make themselves dangerous. Loyola got shots off fast breaks and corner kick opportunities, but Dale came up big for the Tigers.

In the 24th minute, forward Carolyn Kennington broke down the field with the Princeton defense chasing her and just Dale to stop her. As Dale came out to pressure her, Kennington let loose a hard shot, just missing the left goal post.

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The Greyhounds had another excellent opportunity a few minutes later when a Loyola player crossed the ball across the net to find the foot of midfielder Courtney Arikian just a few feet in front of the right side of the goal, who immediately released a shot. Dale came flying from her position on the left side of the goal to save the day once again for the Tigers and stop the shot as she dove to the ground.

"Maren is a lifesaver, she makes saves that I've never seen anyone make before," Anagnostopoulos said. "It gets your adrenaline going, it makes you want to score for her and the rest of the team."

Princeton had plenty of shots early on, but nothing found the target. Princeton's best opportunity in the first half came when freshman defender Caitlin Alev lofted a long ball across the field to sophomore forward Sarah Peteraf in front of the left side of the goal, but Peteraf was unable to control it and convert.

But Jain and Farrell came through and converted in the second half, and the Tigers will go in to their second Ivy game in high spirits knowing they have managed a win after their disappointing weekend loss to Yale, and without the services of junior midfielder Diana Matheson, off training with the Canadian national team.

"I'll be happy to report to her that we won without her," Shackford said.