Women's Soccer: Princeton dominates Hartford

After a disappointing start to the season and only one win in the first five games, the women’s soccer team (2-4-1) earned a 3-0 shutout victory and a boost in confidence playing Hartford (3-5-1) in Roberts Stadium last night.

“We definitely needed it, there’s no question,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “We’ve played well in a lot of games in long stretches but haven’t really rewarded ourselves.”

With only four goals scored in the previous five games, this three-goal shutout was both an offensive and a defensive triumph. Additionally, Princeton had more corner kicks than any game in the past three seasons — data is not available before the 2007 season — and every member of the team saw playing time.

The Tigers were on the offensive early in the game with three shots in the first five minutes. The first goal came in the 25th minute from freshman forward Jen Hoy on an assist from fellow freshman midfielder Stephanie Iantorno. The Hawks failed to react offensively, and within five minutes sophomore midfielder Barb Previ connected with senior forward and tri-captain Marci Pasenello to put Princeton up 2-0.

“I’ve taken a lot of shots but haven’t really had a goal yet, so this was a nice feeling of relief,” Pasenello said. “Hopefully more will come from here.”

Shortly into the second half, freshman midfielder Rachel Saunders received a pass back from sophomore midfielder Alissa Boddie, sending the ball straight into the back of the net for the Tigers’ third and final goal.

Princeton maintained control on the Hartford side of the line for the majority of the second half. While the Tigers managed the ball well and kept possession, they could not string together another serious offensive attack. The Hawks’ goalie saw a lot of action but experienced few real threats.

“[Shackford] always said we move the ball really well between the 18s,” Pasenello said. “It’s just we’ve had some breakdowns on our own 18 and we’ve had some difficulty scoring on the other 18.”

This weakness became evident as Princeton’s offensive domination was punctuated by brief but nerve-wracking threats from Hartford. With a minute and a half to go, a Hartford forward challenged junior goalie Alyssa Pont in the box but fumbled at the last second as Pont fell on the ball and recorded a save.

As the announcer began to count down the final 10 seconds, Hartford earned a direct kick off a Tiger handball. The kick sailed dangerously near the net, but Pont bumped it over the crossbar as the final buzzer sounded.

Princeton, once again, dominated the game statistically. The Tigers outshot the Hawks 20 to six and set up 11 corner kicks compared to Hartford’s two. Hartford forward Breeanna Robinson provided its primary offensive threat, taking five of the team’s six shots and two of the three shots on goal. Pasenello was a significant presence for Princeton, recording one goal and six shots, three of them on the goal.

Pasenello underlined the game’s contribution to team morale before Saturday’s home game against Yale.

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“We’ve had some pretty tough games recently, and we have a huge game this weekend with our Ivy opener,” Pasenello said. “Going in with a shutout and also three goals was huge since we’ve had such trouble scoring lately […] Finally tonight it came together. We got our chances, and we finished, which was good.”