Women's Soccer: Early goal lifts team to victory

After a tough loss to Yale in its Ivy League opener, the women’s soccer team got back on track Tuesday night against Fairfield (6-5) winning its first road game of the season, 1-0, off a goal from senior defender and tri-captain Melissa Seitz.

“I’m happy for our team, and from a psychological perspective, we needed it,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “It digs us out of our hole.”

In a Princeton first since the 2007 season, Seitz scored the Tigers’ only goal off a penalty kick. At 16 minutes, 50 seconds in the first half, a Fairfield player pulled down an attacking Tiger inside the 18-yard box, committing a foul. What would normally have been a free kick for Princeton turned into a penalty kick, and Seitz did not waste the penalty- kick opportunity. Burying the shot into the left side of the net, Seitz gave Princeton the only lead that it would need and earned her first career goal.

Despite the close score, the Tigers dominated most of the game, leading the Stags 14-8 in shots, 9-3 in shots on goal and 9-3 in corner kicks. Unfortunately for the Tigers, though, Princeton was only able to sink one goal off those 14 shots, and the Tigers let Fairfield hang around in a game in which it was clearly the inferior team. While some of the missed opportunities can be blamed on a few questionable calls in the box, Princeton will need to put away more goals against the Ivy League’s tougher foes.

“We had some unbelievable chances that we should have finished in the first half,” Shackford said. “Finishing our chances [has] to be our number one change.”

Princeton’s problem with finishing has plagued it all season, as it has outshot every one of its opponents but has only three wins to show for it.

Yet the Tigers showed improvement in their defensive effort, not giving the Stags many chances to score.

According to Shackford, junior midfielder Lauren Whatley, coming in midgame on a substitution, made an impact defensively. The Princeton defensive prowess is evidenced especially in the fact that Princeton goalkeeper Alyssa Pont only made three saves in her second shutout of the season.

With the win the Tigers improve to 3-5-1 on the year and enter Saturday’s tough match at Dartmouth on a high note. The Big Green, though, will be a much different team than the one Princeton faced last night. It won its Ivy League opener in decisive fashion against Brown, 3-1, snapping a three-game losing streak. Dartmouth also won the Nike Virginia Classic on Sept. 13 with a 1-0 win over then-No. 12 West Virginia and is a serious contender in the Ancient Eight.

“[Dartmouth] is going to be a legitimate team. They’re playing really well and are motivated,” Shackford said. “They are definitely the team to beat [in the Ivy League].”

Against the Big Green, the Tigers hope that freshman forward Jen Hoy continues to perform well. Through the first nine games of the season, Hoy already has two goals and two assists, for a total of six points.

“[Hoy] has kind of been moved all around in the field,” Shackford said. “She’s been a big difference maker in terms of her work.”

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Along with Hoy, Princeton hopes to see the consistent goalkeeping of Pont continue through the weekend, as Dartmouth has two dangerous goal scorers in Aly O’Dea and Peyton Tata. The two have combined for five goals and 11 points in only seven games this season, and they will definitely test Pont in the upcoming match.