Women's Soccer: Princeton victorious in second OT

In the end, the most fitting word to depict this season would likely be emotional, which is certainly a word that anyone who watched Princeton’s game against Columbia on Saturday would find accurate. As they have all season, the Tigers (9-1-2 overall, 3-0-1 Ivy League) found a way to win. Courtesy of a golden goal off the left foot of senior forward Sarah Peteraf in the second overtime, Princeton defeated Columbia (9-2-2, 2-1-1) by a score of 2-1 and took sole possession of first place in the Ivy League.

“It was the most emotional win of the season for me. I hadn’t felt like that after a game the entire season,” senior defender and tri-captain Lisa Chinn said. “That was a game we had to win to set ourselves apart in the Ivy League.”

For most of the day, it looked like the game would only further complicate the race for the Ivy League title. After trading early goals, the two teams battled to a virtual standstill until Peteraf’s eighth goal of the season gave Princeton the win.

“We scored pretty early on, and then they scored,” Chinn said. “The rest of the game was kind of back and forth.”

Chinn’s words would hold true until head coach Julie Shackford inserted freshman forward Barb Previ into the game to start the second overtime. After sitting on the bench the entire game in the brisk fall weather, Previ wasted little time warming up, playing a beautiful through-ball to Peteraf in the 108th minute that gave Princeton’s leading scorer the chance to put the Tigers on top. From there, it was only a matter of time, as Peteraf controlled Previ’s pass on the left side of the box, took a touch and then placed a left-footed shot into the far-lower corner of the goal to end the game.

“There wasn’t a lot of time left. Barb Previ has really brought a lot of extra energy into the game,” Peteraf said. “Our subs coming off the bench really added a spark to the game. They really came in and made a difference.”

It became clear early in the game that it would take every ounce of energy Princeton had to pull off the win. The Tigers had a fortuitous start to the game, when Chinn played a cross into the box in the sixth minute, and the ball bounced off the head of a Columbia player and into the goal to give Princeton a 1-0 lead.

Judging by the 690-minute scoreless streak that Princeton brought into the game, a casual observer could have assumed that the Lions’ gaff would be all the Tigers needed to bring home the win. That was not the case, however, as Columbia responded with a goal from midfielder Nora Dooley in the 13th minute to knot the score at one and end Princeton’s immaculate streak at 702 minutes.

“I think during the game we didn’t think about [being scored on],” Chinn said. “After the fact, we’re disappointed. It’s important confidence-wise, to know that even if something like this happens, we can bounce back,” she added. “The team responded really well.”

Princeton’s inspired response to Columbia’s goal was apparent as the game wore on, and the Tigers found a way to handle the pressure created by the Lions’ three-forward formation.

“I think Columbia is a really tough team. All the Ivy games are really tough,” Peteraf said. “We tried to connect passes and look pretty, which can be tough in a game when you’re trying to battle as tough as you can. The course of the game was less rhythmic than we’re used to. They were creating a lot of counterattacks.”

Yet these counterattacks amounted to little after the Lions’ early goal, as Princeton shored up its always-solid defense and allowed only two more shots on goal during regulation.

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“I think it was one of our better games of the year,” Chinn said. “We were a little bit nervous and tentative at times. I think as the game went on, we played well.”

With Princeton’s defense back to its usual form, the Tigers began to create more opportunities on the offensive end of the field.

“A few of us had some very good opportunities that we did not put away,” Peteraf said, “which was disappointing since we’d been working on that in practice.”

While these opportunities proved futile in regulation, Peteraf’s second golden goal of the season ensured that Princeton would return to the cozy confines of Myslik Field with its 10-game unbeaten streak intact.