Though the Tigers put three goals in the back of the net, the women's soccer team was unable to notch its first win. The Tigers (0-4-1 overall) traveled to South Bend, Ind., this past weekend, hoping to take down two nationally respected teams, but instead came away with a 2-4 loss against No. 11 Notre Dame (2-2-1) on Friday and a 1-2 overtime loss to Washington State (4-0-1) on Sunday afternoon.
"We have been consistently improving during our first few games," freshman midfielder Alexandra Valerio said. "We have been really focusing on our team and individual defending, and it is starting to come together."
In Friday night's game against the Fighting Irish, who finished second last year at the NCAA championship, the Tigers broke their scoring drought in the 22nd minute on Valerio's first career goal. Valerio hung tough in front of the goal and capitalized on the Fighting Irish's inability to quickly clear the ball.
Getting a goal finally got the monkey off the struggling Tigers' back.
"I think it was really important for us to finally put some goals in the back of the net," junior midfielder Aarti Jain said. "It was even more incredible to get our first goal against a team of the caliber of Notre Dame."
Though Notre Dame got off eight shots in the first half, senior goalkeeper Maren Dale ably frustrated their efforts. Dale would finish the game with five saves.
The second half, however, was a different story.
Notre Dame got its offense under control and scored three successive goals.
Late in the half, Princeton started to build a comeback with junior midfielder Jen Om scoring on a free kick in the 76th minute.
Notre Dame came back firing immediately, scoring 90 seconds later to regain the two-goal lead that would last the rest of the game.
Despite the loss, the Tigers remained positive after the game.
"I think that hanging tough with Notre Dame was a testament to our team," Valerio said. "We have worked hard in the past few months in preparation for our extremely strong out-of-conference schedule. To be honest, there was never any doubt in my mind that we could compete with and possibly even beat a team of Notre Dame's stature."
Sunday afternoon's game against Washington State pushed the Tigers even closer to achieving their first win.
Though the Cougars outshot Princeton 19-11 in the first half, neither team was able to get on the board.
Each team had opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, but both defenses stood strong.
Two minutes into the second half, sophomore forward Vicki Anagnostopoulos broke through and scored the team's second goal off senior defender Melissa Whitley's assist.
The Tigers held onto the lead into the 70th minute, when the Cougars were finally able to penetrate the defense and slip one past Dale.
Just two minutes later, Princeton had a chance to get the go-ahead goal when Jain was taken down in Washington State's box, and the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick.
Om took the kick but was unable to convert it, leaving the game tied 1-1.
Regulation ended with the teams deadlocked at one goal apiece.
The Tigers and Cougars battled fiercely during the first overtime, but again neither team was able to get a goal.
Finally, just 31 seconds into the second sudden-death overtime, Washington State scored on a quick play off a strong throw-in and dashed Princeton's hopes of gaining its first win on the season.
Though Princeton's record shows a zero in the win column, the Tigers have played four teams ranked in national polls and have held tough against each of them.
They took a step forward this weekend by making some offensive connections and aim to build on their achievements in the coming weeks.
"The games were much closer than the scores indicate, and even though we would've liked to get a result, we can take a lot of positives away from the game," Valerio said.
Before taking on its next opponent, the team will have a full week to practice and work out its kinks.
Princeton will take on Saint Joseph's next Sunday at 1 p.m. at Powers Field in Princeton Stadium.
Though the Tigers put three goals in the back of the net, the women's soccer team was unable to notch its first win. The Tigers (0-4-1 Overall) traveled to South Bend, Ind., this past weekend, hoping to take down two nationally respected teams, but instead came away with a 2-4 loss against No. 11 Notre Dame (2-2-1) on Friday and a 1-2 overtime loss to Washington State (4-0-1) on Sunday afternoon.
"We have been consistently improving during our first few games," freshman midfielder Alexandra Valerio said. "We have been really focusing on our team and individual defending, and it is starting to come together."
In Friday night's game against the Fighting Irish, who finished second last year at the NCAA championship, the Tigers broke their scoring drought in the 22nd minute on Valerio's first career goal. Valerio hung tough in front of the goal and capitalized on the Fighting Irish's inability to quickly clear the ball.
Getting a goal finally got the monkey off the struggling Tigers' back.
"I think it was really important for us to finally put some goals in the back of the net," junior midfielder Aarti Jain said. "It was even more incredible to get our first goal against a team of the caliber of Notre Dame."
Though Notre Dame got off eight shots in the first half, senior goalkeeper Maren Dale ably frustrated their efforts. Dale would finish the game with five saves.
The second half, however, was a different story.
Notre Dame got its offense under control and scored three successive goals.
Late in the half, Princeton started to build a comeback with junior midfielder Jen Om scoring on a free kick in the 76th minute.
Notre Dame came back firing immediately, scoring 90 seconds later to regain the two-goal lead that would last the rest of the game.
Despite the loss, the Tigers remained positive after the game.
"I think that hanging tough with Notre Dame was a testament to our team," Valerio said. "We have worked hard in the past few months in preparation for our extremely strong out-of-conference schedule. To be honest, there was never any doubt in my mind that we could compete with and possibly even beat a team of Notre Dame's stature."
Sunday afternoon's game against Washington State pushed the Tigers even closer to achieving their first win.
Though the Cougars outshot Princeton 19-11 in the first half, neither team was able to get on the board.
Each team had opportunities to put the ball in the back of the net, but both defenses stood strong.
Two minutes into the second half, sophomore forward Vicki Anagnostopoulos broke through and scored the team's second goal off senior defender Melissa Whitley's assist.
The Tigers held onto the lead into the 70th minute, when the Cougars were finally able to penetrate the defense and slip one past Dale.
Just two minutes later, Princeton had a chance to get the go-ahead goal when Jain was taken down in Washington State's box, and the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick.
Om took the kick but was unable to convert it, leaving the game tied.
Regulation ended with the teams deadlocked at one goal apiece.
The Tigers and Cougars battled fiercely during the first overtime, but again neither team was able to get a goal.
Finally, just 31 seconds into the second sudden-death overtime, Washington State scored on a quick play off a strong throw-in and dashed Princeton's hopes of gaining its first win on the season.
Though Princeton's record shows a zero in the win column, the Tigers have played four teams ranked in national polls and have held tough against each of them.
They took a step forward this weekend by making some offensive connections and aim to build on their achievements in the coming weeks.
"The games were much closer than the scores indicate, and even though we would've liked to get a result, we can take a lot of positives away from the game," Valerio said.
Before taking on its next opponent, the team will have a full week to practice and work out its kinks.
Princeton will take on Saint Joseph's next Sunday at 1 p.m. at Powers Field in Princeton Stadium.
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