Last year, the Tigers opened Ivy play with a 2-0 home loss to the Bulldogs. This time around, Princeton will hope to exact a small manner of revenge as it travels to New Haven.
“Any time you start the league season, you have to step up your game,” head coach Julie Shackford said. “The league is physical, and we have to get ready for a physical battle. Also, being on the road will present challenges.”
Princeton has already had some challenges in the past week, dropping two 1-0 games against Hofstra (6-2) and Long Island University (6-1-1). On Wednesday, the Tigers managed only one half of play against St. Joseph’s University (3-5) before the game was canceled at halftime due to a thunderstorm. The teams will have to replay the whole game because they did not make it to the 70-minute mark. The game has not yet been rescheduled.
Last Friday, Long Island scored a goal in the ninth minute of play and the Tigers could not answer back. At Hofstra two days later, sophomore goalie Kristin Watson made a career-high six saves but could not stop the Pride’s goal 4 minutes into the second half.
“There are some games that are one-goal games that just don’t go your way,” Shackford said. “It’s kind of part of our sport.”
Yale is coming into its Ivy League opener after a successful week of play. The Bulldogs were on a four-game losing streak that included a 7-0 loss against then-No. 7 Boston College (5-0-1) before they defeated Sacred Heart (4-3-2) 4-0 last Friday. Two days later, the Bulldogs tied Syracuse 1-1 in a game that went into two overtimes. Last year, the teams also met for their league openers, and Yale pulled out a 2-0 win against Princeton.
“Yale is always a challenge,” Shackford said. “They’ve always given us great games ... They are athletic and very well coached. They’ll have a lot of speed and they compete well.”
The Bulldogs have beaten Sacred Heart and Penn State (2-7-2) but lost to Illinois (7-1-1), Connecticut (4-4-2), Duke (7-1-1) and Boston College.
Sophomore midfielder Caitlin Blosser leads the team in offensive points with two goals and five assists, giving her a total of nine points on the season. Sophomore forward Jen Hoy follows with eight points coming from her team-leading four goals. The two are also tied for the team lead in shots on goal. The Tigers will look to Hoy and Blosser to lead the offense against the Bulldogs.
On defense, Princeton hopes sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Watson can be a steady presence behind the net.
Shackford noted, however, that with this team, “it’s a group effort, starting with the defenders.”
In preparation for the game, the team focused on mentally preparing to begin play. Shackford said that doing the “intangible things — the things you can’t put numbers to” is key to Saturday’s matchup. Getting in the frame of mind to compete will help the Tigers outwork the Bulldogs for a full 90 minutes and win all the critical 50-50 balls.
“We need to come out and be really focused, keep the ball, and execute a game plan from start to finish,” Shackford said. “We’ve done it before and we can do it well ... We’ve shown incredible potential.”
The Tigers’ matchup with Yale signals the opening of the heart of Princeton’s season.
“Starting the league is like starting another season,” Shackford said. “It’s exciting and what we live for.”
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