Missing Matheson, Tigers host Loyola

The last time junior midfielder Diana Matheson missed games to train with the Canadian national team, the women's soccer team suffered a disappointing weekend. Tonight, Princeton (3-3-1 overall, 0-1 Ivy League) will once again be without the co-captain's sure foot and strong leadership. Unlike the pair of wins that prefaced Matheson's previous absence, however, the team faces a distinct challenge coming off a disappointing road loss this past weekend to Yale.

Princeton is eager to take on Loyola (Md.) (1-4-2) in a home match tonight at 7 p.m. in order to put the game back into perspective and to get into the nitty-gritty details of good, solid soccer.

"For us, the next practice is as important as the next game and we have such a young group that we are trying to get them to understand the importance of all of it," head coach Julie Shackford said.

The Greyhounds will certainly come into the game with a similar attitude. After a 1-0 road loss to Rutgers last week, where the Scarlet Knights dominated play, Loyola had a week off to prepare for its second straight foray into the Garden State.

With the Greyhounds' all-time leading goalscorer Carolyn Kennington steering the offensive effort, Princeton's defensive focus will be more important than ever.

Defending is only part one of the game plan, however, as the Tigers will also have to contend with a defense rife with strong returnees, including MAAC Defensive Player of the Year Sarah Moller.

"We will look to set play by our defending first," senior defender and co-captain Christina Costantino said. "Playing on home turf is always to our advantage. We certainly are looking to utilize that energy for the game. At the same time, we need to be playing better soccer. That means defending first, closing space faster, always battling and competing, working for each other on and off the ball, and ultimately put some balls in the back of the net."

Costantino's last objective may prove to be difficult, however, as the absent Matheson leads Princeton in both assists and goals, with two and three respectively. In fact, the Tigers were shut out without Matheson's presence in the midfield at the College of William and Mary tournament two weeks ago.

Loyola's defense has allowed 11 goals so far this season, though nine were scored in the Greyhounds' first three games in a tournament in Phoenix, Az.

Princeton will look to senior forward Meghan Farrell to try and break down the Loyola defense, along with standout freshman forward Vicki Anagnostopoulos and sophomore midfielder Aarti Jain. All three have a pair of goals and one assist on the season.

"These are great opportunities for others to step into [Matheson's] leadership roles on the field and playmake for us," Costantino said. "We especially need more players to be doing that all over the field."

The Tigers want to step up and push harder to reach the next level, beginning with this game. Pushing harder includes a majority of the team watching film of the Yale game, to hopefully fix the factors that led to the loss.

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"When you come off a loss like that you just need to get back out there and continue working," Costantino said. "We have to get back to the basics: working harder and competing."