No. 14: Esmerelda Negron '05

Though it can be shown in any number of ways — from broken records to Ivy League championships — there remains one undeniable fact about the collegiate career of Esmeralda Negron '05: she is the best player in the history of the Princeton women's soccer team.

Negron, a forward in all her four years with the Orange and Black, led the Tigers to Ivy League championships in 2001, 2002 and 2004 and set a myriad of records in the process.

Among the records that Negron currently holds are career points, with 112, and career goals, with 47. She ranks third overall in career assists, chalking up 18 during her time with Princeton.

Negron's arrival on campus coincided with a stretch of dominance by the Tigers, who appeared in six consecutive NCAA championship brackets between 1999-2004. Negron, unsurprisingly, played a big part in that dominance.

Upon joining the team in 2001, Negron made an immediate impact. She scored six goals in her freshman season, five of which were game-winners. She continued to thrive with the team and went on to win the 2003 Ivy League Player of the Year award.

While Negron, a Spanish major who earned a certificate in Portuguese, unquestionably excelled in her first three years at Princeton, her defining season came during her senior year.

The 2004 Princeton squad finished an unprecedented 7-0 in league play and finished with a 19-3 overall record. The Tigers, after earning yet another NCAA championships berth, reeled off four consecutive victories to reach the Final Four, where they were defeated by UCLA. In doing so, Princeton became the first Ivy League team ever to advance that far in the tournament.

Negron was no less successful. In the 2004 campaign, she broke the all-time points and goals records, both previously held by Linda DeBoer '86. She also set singleseason records in the three major categories, finishing the year with 52 points, 20 goals and 12 assists. For her efforts she was named a first-team All-American and won Ivy League Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row.

In her final regular-season game against Penn, Negron scored three goals and made an assist — all in the first half. Negron's hat trick was her second of the season, which, at the time, gave her two of the three hat tricks in the team's history.

Negron was one of the winningest players in Princeton history, finishing her career with a record of 22-4-2 in league play and 57-12-6 overall.

Her skill on the field was matched only by her passion for the game.

"Soccer has always been such a huge part of my life, and it has led to an enormous amount of wonderful memories," she said in a 2001 interview with The Daily Princetonian.

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After leaving Old Nassau, Negron went abroad to test her skills, playing the 2005-06 campaign in France for the USCO Compiegne club team. This past summer, she joined the New Jersey Wildcats of the Women's United Soccer League, which finished its season undefeated. The Wildcats are comprised of some of the most promising female soccer talent in the nation, with players ranging in origin from New Jersey to Brazil to Switzerland.

It is still too soon to tell how far Negron will go in professional soccer, but she will hold a prominent place in the Tigers' record books for years to come.