“[The team] is very excited. We all watched [the selection show] together,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “This morning, I had a weird premonition that we would play West Virginia. They’re not shocked or anything.”
The NCAA tournament bid is the first for Princeton’s senior class, which played a pivotal role in ending the team’s four-year tournament drought. The last time the Tigers were invited to the tournament, the team made it all the way to the College Cup semifinals.
Princeton received its at-large bid after finishing tied for first place in the Ivy League. The team but was not granted the league’s automatic bid after losing the tiebreaker with Harvard, who defeated Princeton earlier this year. Princeton’s at-large credentials were bolstered by non-conference wins over fellow College Cup hopefuls Fairfield and Boston University and a No. 25 RPI ranking.
“I think it’s a good bracket. We’re psyched about it,” Shackford said. “We get to go south to Virginia, which has one of the best fields in the country. We’re really excited to represent Princeton.”
Princeton will face some stiff competition in West Virginia, which received an at-large bid following its second-place finish in the Big East Conference. The Tigers and Mountaineers had one common opponent this year, St. John’s University, which both teams tied. Princeton tied the Red Storm 1-1 in double overtime in a non-conference game back in September, while the Mountaineers played St. John’s to a 0-0 tie in league play.
“[West Virginia was] an Elite Eight team last year,” Shackford said. “They are a very strong team and always athletic. They are weathered in the Big East and have a lot of talent.”
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