Women's Soccer: Streaking squad hosts Cornell in home finale

While question marks have begun to crop up for many of the Ivy League contenders, the women’s soccer team is peaking as it enters the final week of the regular season. Undefeated in its last six games, Princeton (6-6-3 overall, 2-2-1 Ivy League) will host Cornell (1-11-1, 0-5-0) this Saturday at Roberts Stadium in its final home game and take on Penn (8-4-2, 2-3-0) next Saturday at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia.

The Tigers are fresh off the best game of their season — a 1-0 victory over then-league leader Harvard (7-6-1, 4-1-0). The Crimson hadn’t lost in six games and was undefeated in league play. But swift freshman forward Jen Hoy scored the game-winner in the 86th minute, and junior goalkeeper Alyssa Pont made 10 saves to secure Princeton’s biggest victory of the season.

“It was just good to beat a good team away on the road, but more importantly the team played a full 90 minutes,” head coach Julie Shackford said of the win. “Any time you can go and beat a good team on the road, it gives you a bit of confidence. Going into the midterm week, it gives you a bit of zip.”

As a result of Pont’s and Hoy’s clutch performances, the Tigers swept the weekly Ivy awards. Pont took home Player of the Week honors, while Hoy earned co-Rookie of the Week honors.

“I think we’ve just been so much tighter defensively. That’s been one of the key adjustments we’ve made, and the team has adjusted really well,” Shackford said of the team’s improvement since the Dartmouth game. “Some of the younger players are starting to come around, and more importantly, the team is getting better as the season wears on.”

Princeton hasn’t given up a goal since its heartwrenching 2-1 loss to Dartmouth on Oct. 3. That’s five straight shutouts. A season after going 702 minutes without giving up a goal, Pont and the Tiger defense have another scintillating streak going: 492 minutes.

Princeton’s first matchup will be against perhaps the sole constant in the Ivy League. The Big Red has only won one game this season and is clearly the weakest team in the Ivies. Still, Cornell should not be a pushover — the Big Red has lost by only one goal in three conference games. The Bulldogs needed overtime to squeak out a 2-1 victory. The Quakers also squeezed by on a 2-1 margin, and Brown won on a 1-0 shutout.

“They are definitely better than they were last year, and I think we’re in for a game,” Shackford said.

Offense has been Cornell’s Achilles heel. The Big Red averages only 0.62 goals per game. The team has almost as many shots as its opposition, however, so it’s not for lack of effort. Like Princeton, Cornell has struggled to finish its scoring opportunities.

Saturday’s home game against the Big Red will be the final one for a trio of seniors: forward and tri-captain Marci Pasenello, defensive back and tri-captain Melissa Seitz and forward Vicki Anagnostopoulos.

The Tigers will go on the road for their final game of the season, facing a Penn team that has only lost once thus far — to Yale this past weekend, 2-1.

The Quakers have been notably inconsistent this year. At times, they have played as if they were the most talented team in the Ivy League. At others, not so much.

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Penn crushed Dartmouth, 5-1, two weeks ago. Columbia, however — whom the Big Green shut down, 2-0, this past weekend — destroyed the Quakers, 4-2, earlier this season. Princeton and the Lions played to a scoreless draw two weeks ago.

Penn boasts an explosive offense. For the season, the Quakers have scored an amazing 33 goals.

Leading the way for Penn is standout forward Jessica Fucello, who has 16 scores on the season.

“You have to keep track of her,” Shackford said. “She can shoot long range, and she has asserted herself as the high scorer in the league and is having a phenomenal senior year.”

Yet the Quakers’ offense is not impenetrable: They have given up 20 goals to their opponents.

Recent results in the Ivy League have certainly muddied the chase for the title, leaving open the smallest of possibilities for a repeat title for the Tigers. Still, they would need a tremendous amount of good fortune to remain a threat after this weekend.

Harvard was the front-runner, but Princeton put an end to that this past weekend. The Tigers, with seven points, are currently tied for fourth place in the league with the Lions. Dartmouth has nine points, while Yale and Harvard both have 12, though the Crimson holds the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs thanks to its 3-2 victory.

The Lions must win on Friday against Yale for Princeton still to have a shot, and the Big Green must beat or tie Harvard.

All the Tigers can do, though, is earn two more wins.

“We’re just trying to get better every day and focus on getting two victories,” Shackford said. “We’re in a really good place, and the team feels really good about their improvement and the fact that we’ve got seven shutouts and haven’t given anything away.”