Nothing can keep Dale out of the net

When the women's soccer team's senior captain and goalkeeper Maren Dale began playing soccer, she played all 11 positions with the wild abandon typical of most six year olds. Several years later, she settled down a bit and spent all of her time playing in goal, stopping shots from crossing her line. Depending on whom you talk to, this shift in focus came about due to either extreme laziness or love of getting down and dirty.

"My mom says that I started playing goalie because I hated to run, but I'm sticking with the story that I just loved diving in the mud," Dale said.

This foray into mud-diving proved very fortuitous for Dale, as it has led her to travel all over the country and allowed her to make a Final Four appearance her freshman year.

Dale might have to thank her genes for some of her goaltending talent; her father played goalie for Colgate. His influence drew Dale and her older sister toward the game at a very young age. Growing up in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Dale was able to train outside much of the year and joined her first club team when she was eight.

"I started playing travel soccer at eight and officially become a goalkeeper at 11," Dale said. "Between the ages of eight and 14, I was always on some club team, getting as much quality playing time as I could."

Playing time certainly wasn't a problem by the time Dale entered high school. As a freshman at St. Thomas Aquinas, she was playing on three different teams — high school, club and an Olympic Development Program squad.

Not only was she the starting goalie for three different teams, but each team was good enough to stand out in its own right.

"When I was in high school, our school team was ranked number one in the nation, my club team was the best in the state and my state ODP team won our region and competed in the national tournament," Dale said.

With Dale anchoring the defensive efforts of three powerhouse teams, it was inevitable that her talent would be noticed. Many state schools made efforts to recruit Dale, as did several Ivy and Patriot League teams. After visiting Princeton, however, Dale decided becoming a Tiger would be the perfect fit for her.

"The amazing girls I met while visiting Princeton helped make my decision to enroll," Dale said. "I knew I'd be spending the majority of my time with the team and wanted the friendly and supportive atmosphere I found with the girls here."

Upon joining the Tigers, Dale found that she would have to work exceedingly hard on both her physical and mental game if she wanted to crack the starting lineup. Midway through her sophomore season, all the hard work paid off when head coach Julie Shackford gave her the responsibility of being the starting goalie.

Unfortunately for Dale, an ankle injury forced her back to the bench just a few games later.

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"Getting injured that season was one of the most difficult things I've had to overcome," Dale said. "Being given the starting job gave me such a high, and then having to sit out from an injury just brought me back down."

Dale wasn't down for long, though. She was given the starting nod at the beginning of the following season. With her regained responsibility, Dale began to put more pressure on herself.

"Once I won the starting job, confidence became a huge factor for me," Dale said. "I needed to learn to have faith in myself and believe in my own abilities. I'm still battling, but I'm learning to play within myself and silence those demons."

Perhaps Dale's own struggles with believing in herself make her such a great team leader. She knows how loud the doubts can become if she's not careful. After a rough start for the team this season, Dale has led Princeton to its sixth straight win, making strides toward silencing critics.

"I'm so proud of our team," Dale said. "We have developed such great chemistry and have been battling in each and every game."

This never-give-up attitude that Dale has learned on the field should help her transition into the working world next year.

"Soccer has taught me so many life lessons about work ethic, conflict management and responsibility," Dale said. "Playing at Princeton has helped me to grow so much as a person over the course of the past four years."