Princeton to face first unranked foe

Competing hard against the top-ranked teams in the country has been the overriding objective for the women's soccer team this season. Now five games into their season, the Tigers have yet to take on an opponent unrecognized in the national polls.

Enter St. Joseph's. Though sporting a better record than Princeton, the Hawks (2-3-0 overall) should prove to be a far less challenging foe than those the Tigers (0-4-1) have faced. The two teams will square off Sunday at 1 p.m. on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.

While the Tigers still have a goose egg in the win column, their play has steadily improved each game this season. Princeton's offensive connections have been made more frequently, and the team is communicating and making better runs off the ball.

"To step out on the field with a top team in the country [like Notre Dame] and put two goals away was a great way to reward our hard work," junior midfielder Jen Om said. "We would have liked a win, but goals against Notre Dame were without doubt a huge positive step for us."

Sunday's game should be a chance for the Tigers to take advantage of the recent struggles of the Hawks, who have been defeated in their last two games by a combined 10 goals.

St. Joseph's began the season on a high note, beating Drexel 1-0 in a game that saw a freshman net the only goal of the game. The Hawks graduated six starters from last year's team and replaced them with underclassmen. While still talented, St. Joseph's is certainly young and inexperienced at key positions. Each of the team's three goals this season has been scored by either a freshman or a sophomore.

Princeton should also look to capitalize on the fact that the Hawks have a first-time starter in goal.

St. Joseph's suffered a 7-0 blowout loss in its second game of the season, against Delaware. Right from the start, the Fightin' Blue Hens put the pressure on the Hawks, outshooting them 30-6 on the game.

St. Joseph's quickly rebounded to win a tight 1-0 battle against Robert Morris. The Hawks' next two opponents, including one of Princeton's Ivy League foes, proved to be much tougher. In a 6-0 loss to Penn and a 5-1 loss to Georgetown, the Hawks were outshot a combined 36-3.

Offensively, St. Joseph's has neither scored many goals nor had many opportunities. While Princeton's offense also has struggled early on, the quality of its competition has been much higher. Senior goalkeeper Maren Dale should have a relatively relaxed game if the defenders in front of her continue to play as solidly as they have in their first five contests.

With senior forward Diana Matheson — the team captain and offensive leader — having been eliminated just last night along with Team Canada from the Women's World Cup, the offense will continue to rely on last year's second-leading scorer, sophomore midfielder Vicki Anagnostopoulos.

Anagnostopoulos missed the first few games of this season due to an injury but scored her first goal of the year in Princeton's most recent loss to Washington State.

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The Tigers cannot let the Hawks' recent stretch of dismal play impede their own preparation.

"We're just preparing to improve ourselves," junior defender Sarah Peteraf said. "We're just trying to keep working hard every day."

If the Tigers display the same intensity against St. Joseph's as they showed in matches against nationally ranked Notre Dame and Washington State, Sunday's game could be an opportunity for a very hungry Princeton team to pick up its first win of a challenging season.