Women's Soccer: Still perfect at Myslik

Judging by the women’s soccer team’s at times lackluster play, the Tigers seem to have done just that, as Princeton (8-1-2 overall, 2-0-1 Ivy League) was unable to control possession against the Mountain Hawks (4-8-1). In the end, however, the Tigers defeated their non-conference foe, 1-0, to run their unbeaten streak to nine games and extend their astonishing scoreless streak to 690 minutes.

“It was a midweek game,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “I think it’s pretty characteristic of a game where we’re getting out of classes. We had to rush around to get ready. We were a little lethargic in the first half.”

After a sluggish start, Princeton was able to jump out to an early lead when freshman forward Kalie Bartholomew placed a pass from sophomore forward Lauren Whatley into the back of the net in the 14th minute for her third goal of the year.

Bartholomew had a chance to add to the total less than a minute later, but her shot from the middle of the box went over the crossbar. The Tigers were unable to stay in control, and much of the play in the first half was spent in the middle part of the field, with both teams battling to maintain possession.

Princeton had an opportunity late in the first half to extend the lead, when senior outside back and tri-captain Lisa Chinn played a beautiful ball into the box to freshman midfielder Alissa Boddie, who was denied her first collegiate goal on a diving save by Lehigh goalkeeper Julie Kafka. The play was one of many started by Chinn, who wreaked havoc throughout the game making runs up the right side of the field.

“We’ve been working on [making those runs] in practice,” Chinn said. “I like to go forward, and people tend to not defend when defenders are coming up.”

Princeton made it known early in the second half that the first half was a thing of the past when senior forward Sarah Peteraf took a left-footed shot less than two minutes in. The shot was deflected over the goal by replacement goalkeeper Natalie Krane, preventing the Tigers from extending their lead.

“I thought that we were playing way below our potential, and I think [the team] knew that,” Shackford said. “I thought we weren’t as focused defensively in the first half, and we definitely tightened up in the second half.”

While Peteraf was unable to put the ball in the goal, her shot would foreshadow the main themes of the second half, with Princeton reasserting its edge in talent and cohesiveness to create a rash of scoring opportunities. Unfortunately for the Tigers, these opportunities were repeatedly denied, and Princeton was unable to extend its 1-0 lead despite a 13-0 edge in shots in the second half.

“We were lucky in the first half to get the goal and a little unlucky in the second half to not score despite creating so many chances,” Shackford said. “It could have been 5-0 easily.”

The Tigers next threatened in the 53rd minute, when Krane blocked a header from senior middle back Taylor Numann off a corner kick. Two minutes later, it was a left-footed chip from senior midfielder and tri-captain Jen Om that glanced off the crossbar before being cleared by the Hawks’ defense.

“Their keeper definitely made some good saves,” Chinn said. “We still won, which is great. I think we’re glad we created chances, but we definitely need to finish our chances.”

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In the 72nd minute, Peteraf had another chance to put the game out of reach when she launched a shot from outside the 18-yard box that banged off the bottom of the crossbar and was cleared.

Princeton kept knocking on the door and had a final chance to ice the game in the 87th minute when a point-blank shot from sophomore midfielder Kayleigh Iatarola was snuffed out by Krane before the rebound from Om was deflected just left of the goal.

Despite not being able to score in the second half, the Tigers’ offense prevented Lehigh from mounting any sort of attack in the second half and ensured that sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Pont would capture her eighth shutout of the year.

“1-0 is the most dangerous game to be in,” Chinn said. “We wanted to put another one away for that reason. I don’t think we were too worried, but we definitely wanted to put another one in.”

Though the chips did not fall the Tigers’ way in the second half, their improved play ensured that a beautiful fall afternoon in Princeton would not end in an upset.