Women's Soccer: Defense is set to dominate again

That could spell bad news for Brown (4-4-3, 1-1), which comes to Myslik Field on Saturday afternoon for a game that may well have Ivy League title implications down the road. The Bears, however, are a team that should not be overlooked.

“Brown is a very dangerous team,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “They tied [No. 4] UCLA and beat [No. 23] Penn State earlier this year. They are going to be tough. They are doing everything well, and they are always a strong and physical team. We have a lot of respect for them.”

The Bears deploy a more balanced offense than Princeton. While the Tigers have only two players with more than five points, Brown has four such players. The Bears also have a balance between youth and experience: Freshman forward Marybeth Lesbirel leads the team with four goals, followed closely by senior forward Lindsay Cunningham.

Brown has no single threat as dangerous as Princeton senior midfielder Sarah Peteraf, who has tallied 14 points on the season.

The Tigers should expect big things if and when Peteraf finds herself on an island against Bears goalkeeper Brenna Hogue. Hogue, who has a 1.28 goals-against average, has allowed seven scores in Brown’s last three games.

Princeton, meanwhile, has complete confidence in sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont. In her first year as the Tigers’ starter, Pont has stonewalled opponents, notching 27 saves while allowing roughly one goal every three games.

When the Bears last traveled to Princeton in 2006, Brown handed the Tigers a 4-0 shellacking that ended any hope the team had of winning the league title that season. This year, Princeton will be out for revenge, as the team looks to wrest control of the Ivy League away from the competition.

The Tigers certainly looked capable in their last game, a 4-0 romp at American on Tuesday. The wide margin of victory ended a string of three-straight 1-0 wins for Princeton and put to rest many questions about the Tigers’ goal-scoring ability. Peteraf tallied two goals against American to push her team-leading total to seven. It was also the third-consecutive game in which Peteraf has scored a goal.

“American was a good team,” Shackford said. “We only outshot them 9-7, but we did well with taking advantage of our chances.”

Despite the convincing win, Shackford said she feels there is still plenty her team can do to improve.

“I think our possession still can be better. We’re giving the ball away too easily sometimes,” she said. “Our forwards could do a better job defensively, and I would still like to see us creating more chances.”

Princeton’s possession will be aided by the return of senior midfielder and tri-captain Jen Om. After sitting out last Saturday’s win against Dartmouth with an injury, Om played sparingly against American on Tuesday. That will not be the case this weekend, when Princeton will look to Om to provide her usual calming presence on the field and her ability to link play from defense to offense.

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“Jen did very well [on Tuesday],” Shackford said. “She will be back in full force [against Brown].”

As always, the Tigers’ impeccable defense, headed by senior defender Taylor Numann, will play a prominent role in the team’s success. Princeton enters the game with a 490-minute shutout streak that it will look to continue against Brown.

“Taylor is always the unsung hero,” Shackford said. “She puts herself in good position, so she doesn’t have to make any amazing plays. I give her all the credit in the world.”

Numann will be joined on the defensive end by the usual seasoned group of backfield veterans: junior middle back and tri-captain Melissa Seitz, senior outside back and tri-captain Lisa Chinn and sophomore outside back Marissa Sampias. This group has combined with Pont to already eclipse the team’s shutout total from last season.

Princeton owes much of its success this season to the excellent play and leadership of the team’s senior class, and Shackford expects it to be no different Saturday.

“The whole senior class has done a great job embracing the battling attitude,” Shackford said. “I feel that teams that have been successful here [in the past] have had strong senior leadership.”