Women's Soccer: Flat-back four not caught on its heels

“No goals against for the rest of the season,” senior defender Taylor Numann said.

A lofty goal? Certainly. But realistic? Given the way the Tigers have dominated their opponents all season, it just might be.

“We’ve [had shutouts] in each of the last six games, [and] we can do it in the next six,” senior defender and tri-captain Lisa Chinn said.

Winning the highly competitive Ivy League may boil down to the Tigers’ ability to fulfill that goal, but whether or not they achieve it, Princeton’s defense is still one of the most dominant in college soccer. Among Division I teams, the Tigers currently rank third in save percentage (.914) and sixth in both shutout percentage (.700) and goals-against average (.300).

“The defenders have now worked together for a few years, and that experience really shows,” Chinn said. “In the past, we have had defenders with less experience in the back, but we’ve had a chance to get to know each other through past seasons and playing this spring.”

But experience is not the only piece of the puzzle. The Tigers play a flat-back four that almost always comprises only players from last season’s defense — Numann and junior Melissa Seitz play in the center, while the Chinn, sophomores Bernie Da Costa and Marissa Sampias, and a lone freshman, Lauren Brown alternate at outside back — but sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont had played less than 10 minutes of collegiate soccer before the start of this season.

“Aly came into this year with not a lot of game experience, but she made herself a huge presence immediately,” Chinn said.

“She is just a sophomore, but she does not play like it at all,” Numann added.

Pont, however, attributes a lot of her success to the “amazing” defenders in front of her.

“I get a lot of credit for games in which I rarely touch the ball, and that is all thanks to my defenders,” she said. “I feel so confident with them, no matter who is playing back there. I never worry during games because I know that I have them in front of me.”

Chinn, who took a year off from school, hesitates to compare this year’s defense to that of her freshman year, when the Tigers reached the NCAA Final Four — “not until we get there,” Pont said — but Numann is quick to laud this year’s defense.

“I definitely think that [this is the most effective defense I have played on],” she said. “Aly has definitely come up with bigger saves than we have had in the past … and for me personally, I came into this senior season thinking it was going to be my best year.”

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Another unique aspect of this 2008 defense is the fluidity with which players step into their roles. Chinn, Da Costa, Sampias and Brown are more or less interchangeable, allowing the Tigers to show their opponents different looks and different strengths.

“The only two defensive positions that are set are Taylor and Melissa in the center,” said Chinn, who also plays midfield. “We’ve had a lot of different people playing in the back, which is unusual — usually your defense is pretty set — but also beneficial. Everyone has stepped in and done an excellent job.”

The defense has a mantra, “battle,” which in many ways sums up why it has been so successful this season. Sure, the team sticks to its formation and plays intelligent soccer, but it is on an individual, play-to-play basis where the defense’s real hunger and will show through.

“One of the biggest things helping us this season is that we ‘battle,’ ” Numann said. “As cliche as it is sounds, I really do believe we have embraced that motto, and we have that mentality that no one is going to win this ball from us.”

More often than not this season, opponents have fallen victim to that mentality, either getting stumped by the defense or stoned by Pont. It has been more than 10 hours of game play — equivalent to a flight from New York to Hawaii — since Princeton last conceded a goal, but the Tigers are far from satisfied. They want to keep the goalless streak going for their remaining six games.

Don’t think they can do it? Well, they are willing to battle to prove you wrong.