Entering the weekend, no player on the women’s soccer team had defeated Yale during her collegiate career. That changed Saturday night in New Haven, when the Tigers (4-1-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) capitalized on a strange goal off a corner kick to earn a 1-0 win against the Bulldogs (4-4-1, 0-1).
“As seniors, we’ve never won the Ivy League, and before we came in [to Princeton the team had] won five out of six years, so it’s an inspiration for our team to put the program back where it used to be,” senior middle back Taylor Numann said. “A win over Yale is a step in the right direction.”
The difference came in the 19th minute, when sophomore midfielder Lauren Whatley’s corner kick caromed off a number of players before going through Yale goalkeeper Ayana Sumiyasu’s hands and into the net. Whatley was credited with the fortuitous goal, which proved to be all Princeton needed to open the Ivy League season with a win over its longtime rival.
While the Tigers’ goal may not have been highlight-reel quality, it came about from the constant pressure Princeton was able to put on its opponent early in the game.
“We had a really focused first half. Everyone was tuned-in and intense,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “We got an early goal, and we put a ton of pressure on them.”
Despite multiple scoring opportunities in the first half, Princeton was unable to tack on a second goal. One of the Tigers’ best chances came in the final minute of the first half, when a shot from junior forward Marci Pasenello was deflected by Sumiyasu.
In the second half, Yale looked to even the game by pushing a number of its talented players forward. The tactic shifted the flow of the game, and Princeton was forced to play a much more defensive second half to weather the Bulldogs’ storm.
“They have a lot of talented forwards. They threw a lot of people forward and put some pressure on [us],” Numann said. “It took a lot of battling to keep them from scoring.”
The defensive stand was indicative of the increased competitiveness this year’s team has displayed early in the season. This competitiveness has been on display in Princeton’s three down-to-the-wire one-goal victories this season.
“A lot of our wins or ties have come in the waning moments of the game. I think that speaks a lot to the character of our team that we battle through the entire game,” Numann said. “Our mantra is that we’re going to battle every game regardless of what happens.”
The Bulldogs twice threatened to even the score late in the game. The first opportunity came in the 80th minute when a left-footed shot from Yale forward Becky Brown went just wide of the goal. Two minutes later, sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont made a diving save on a point-blank shot by midfielder Leslie Perez.
Pont’s fourth save was the final straw for the Bulldogs, as Princeton’s stingy defense, led by Numann, senior outside back and tri-captain Lisa Chinn, and junior middle back and tri-captain Melissa Seitz, did not allow another shot. The shutout was Pont’s third this season.
“We’re a really hardworking group. We battle every game. It’s something that’s unique to this group that we fight hard to the very last minute,” Numann said. “This is a huge game. We’ve never beaten Yale before [Saturday] night, so we had so much motivation to beat them.”
Princeton will take on another talented foe from Connecticut when Fairfield (7-1-2) comes to Myslik Field on Tuesday night for a non-conference game. The Tigers will look to improve on keeping the ball on Princeton cleats to relieve the kind of pressure the team felt against the Bulldogs.
“We’re going to work to possess the ball a little bit more. It helps us when we keep the ball so we don’t have to fight so hard defensively,” Numann said. “We’re going to try to hold on to the ball, but the defensive battling mentality is going to be there the whole way through.”
That much should be expected by now from a Princeton team that continues to win by working harder than the opposition.
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