Whitley, Thomas score in two Princeton wins

Going into the last four games of the season, the women's soccer team was on a four-game losing streak and had an overall losing record of 4-7-1. With the season at an end, Princeton (8-7-1 overall, 3-4 Ivy League) managed to hold its last four opponents scoreless, raise its overall record above .500 and obtain a respectable Ivy League record.

Against Cornell on Oct. 28, the game was knotted at zero for most of the time until sophomore forward Sarah Peteraf scored a goal assisted by junior defender Melissa Whitley in the 78th minute. The Tigers went on to beat Cornell (3-12-1, 1-5) by a score of 1-0 to gain momentum for their final game against Penn on their home field.

Princeton did not take as long to score its first goal against Penn (8-5-3, 1-4-2). Freshman midfielder Lauren Thomas scored an unassisted goal in the 38th minute to put the Tigers up by one. Thomas added a second half insurance goal in the 58th minute to cap a spectacular individual performance. The Tigers held on to win the game, 2-0.

"I think this was a great night to close out our season," Costantino said of the victory over Penn. "We struggled a little bit this year, but it's nice to know that we ultimately came together at the end."

Offensively, the Tigers were able to put pressure on their opponents in these last couple games. They appeared more aggressive and physical than in the early going.

"I think that we did attack more [on offense] because early on we were getting in the groove of everything, but by now we have built up our confidence a lot," Thomas said. "This higher level of confidence has made it easier for us to win these last four games, but unfortunately this had to happen at the last part of the season."

Early in the season, coaches and players expressed the need to increase the team's intensity and ability to battle for the duration of the game. The problems were not really based on talent and ability but more on mental and emotional toughness, on which the Tigers improved toward the end of the season.

The defense was also able to stifle their opponents' chances to score in these past few games. Every time that Penn had an opportunity to score on Princeton, its defense seemed to converge on the ball and clear it up field to swing the momentum the other way. Junior goalkeeper Maren Dale was also effective in stopping opponents' shots with five saves in both the Cornell and Penn games.

Now that another season has come to an end, however, it means that the team has to once again say goodbye to its senior members, captain and defender Christina Costantino, forward Meghan Farrell, and forward Amanda Ferranti.

"For the three seniors I can't even say how much this program has meant to us throughout the years and I have found two of my best friends in Meghan [Farrell] and Amanda [Ferranti] in this time," Costantino said. "This is one group of girls that is irreplaceable, and it's hard to find the words to describe how I feel about them."

Although it will lose the talent and leadership of these three seniors, the team is still relatively young. Adding a few new talented freshmen and keeping this same nucleus of players should bode well for the Tigers next season and in the future.

"The young players looked great in this game and throughout the season," Costantino said. "It's good to know that they're getting most of this team back again, which is good news for next year."