Matheson's turn to lead Tigers

Just a year after its magical and unprecedented run to the semifinals of the NCAA soccer championship, the Princeton women's soccer team stayed at home for the tournament last year, unable to even earn a bid to the opening round.

With an Ivy League schedule in which every game counts, and playing in one of the toughest regions in the nation, the Tigers have to be ready to compete from the start to earn a trip to the postseason. Last year, facing the challenge of regrouping after the loss of 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year Esmeralda Negron '05 and her nine classmates, the team simply was not up to speed.

This year Princeton must again recover after losing Ivy League Player of the Year Emily Behncke '06, who scored 14 of the team's 30 goals last season.

"It's tough to lose a player and a person like Emily; she was such a great person, she always had a smile on her face," head coach Julie Shackford said. "She was ultra competitive, but so nice. You don't often see that combination, so we will miss her greatly."

On the field, the Tigers will miss Behncke's scoring mentality, and seek to replace her goals by allowing unanimous All-Ivy League pick junior Diana Matheson more freedom in the midfield. By playing two central midfielders behind Matheson, the coaches are seeking to give Matheson the opportunity to create scoring chances for herself. That tactic paid off last weekend, as she tallied three goals in the course of two games after notching just five last year.

Unfortunately, for roughly 30 percent of the season, including this coming weekend, Matheson will be busy playing with the Canadian national team, so Princeton will need to learn to get by without her scoring and playmaking abilities that make her so effective.

To help spread the scoring as well as replace the void in the midfield while Matheson is gone, Shackford will look to her freshman class, ranked No. 43 nationally and No. 1 in the Ivy League.

"We're going to be relying on [freshman midfielder Lauren Thomas] to pick up the slack when Diana's not around." Shackford said. "She's a playmaker. She can score, she can shoot, she's very talented."

Two freshmen forwards — Marci Pasenello and Vicki Anagnostopoulos — have already been seeing significant time, and once they adjust Shackford expects them to be scoring contributors.

"Marci can break down defenses with her speed, she's just really fast, and she's always going to be dangerous," Shackford said. "Vicki is maybe a little bit better off the ball, but she also has a nose for the goal, and is not afraid to shoot, and I think both of them are going to make a difference."

At forward, the team will look to seniors Amanda Ferranti and Meghan Farrell for leadership, and Shackford also expects sophomore Allison Williams to contribute.

"Amanda and Meghan are more creators than finishers, but Meghan scored two goals this weekend," Shackford said. "They're more target forwards, more able to bring players in, able to combine well with players, but they also can get in a position to score as well."

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After allowing too many sloppy goals last season, much of the work during the preseason has focused on defense, and the Tigers have already seen returns, as they shut out both of their opponents last weekend.

"One of our big goals this year is just not to give up as many goals," Shackford said. "We've really focused a lot on our team defending."

The last line of defense is junior goalkeeper Maren Dale. Dale will be taking over the majority of the playing time between the pipes after splitting it with two seniors last season.

"She played five games last year, which I'm so glad [about]," Shackford said. "She's so much more physically confident, so much more dominant, so much more of a leader. We expect her to have a really good season."

So far Dale has been forced to make just eight saves, a testament to her supporting cast on defense, which includes junior Melissa Whitley and sophomore Taylor Numann, who both played in all 16 of Princeton's games last season.

"Taylor Numann I think probably has been our best player thus far, just at organizing the defense. She's skillful but also tenacious and she's going to be a real leader for us," Shackford said. "Melissa Whitley has a ton of speed, and the heart of a lion. She just goes and goes and goes."

Two of Princeton's stellar freshmen are also currently starting at defense, Caitlin Alev and Melissa Seitz.

"Caitlin Alev is starting at outside back, she's fast, tenacious, she's a real battler," Shackford said. "Melissa Seitz is one of those defenders who you don't notice too much because everything she does is very simple but she doesn't make mistakes."

Behind the play of veterans who know what it is like to recover from the slow start of 2005 and freshmen who came to Princeton motivated by the magic of 2004, the women's soccer team looks poised to maintain its tradition of excellence.