Women's Soccer: Tigers quiet Bulldogs’ bark in first Ivy League match

Grit. The women’s soccer team lived up to its one-word motto for the season by defeating perennial rival Yale in New Haven, Conn., in a hard-fought and physical contest on Saturday.

Sophomore forward Jen Hoy scored the Tigers’ (4-3 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) only goal, and the defense shut down Yale’s (2-5-1, 0-1) attackers to secure the 1-0 win for Princeton.

Hoy’s goal came in the 29th minute on a through ball from sophomore midfielder Caitlin Blosser. It was Blosser’s sixth assist of the year and tied her for the team lead with 10 points.

Hoy ran onto the ball, headed it forward to herself and then sent it over Yale goalkeeper Ayana Sumiyasu’s head into the top corner of the goal. The strike marked the fifth time Hoy has found the back of the net this season — the highest total on the team.

“We made it our goal to win the first half,” senior midfielder and co-captain Kayleigh Iatarola said. “[It] was the first time that we really stuck to the game plan.”

The Tigers have had mixed results this season as they try out a new formation with the hope of being more productive on offense. Though the Tigers have had a nearly impenetrable defense in past years, they have struggled to produce on the offensive end.

On Saturday, the single goal proved to be enough as the defense and sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Watson notched Princeton’s second shutout of the season.

“Our defense did a great job shutting their offense down and preventing them from really being effective,” senior midfielder Lauren Whatley said. “They just rely on trying to counter attack and [get] the ball through to the forwards.”

The Tigers focused on possessing the ball and stopping those fast-break opportunities.

The players all said the opening of Ivy League play changed the team’s mentality going into the game.

“I think everyone was extremely pumped up,” Iatarola said.

Whatley agreed. “Every single person played at a high level of intensity,” she said. “Our starters came out and set the tone. The next line of subs came in and the intensity stayed the same.”

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Each team played an aggressive game that reflected the importance of the first Ivy League match to the teams.

“It was a pretty physical game,” Whatley said. “There were a lot of fouls called.”

“I think we kind of set them on their heels a little bit,” Iatarola said.

In addition to the added motivation of the Ivy League, the players met with a Class of 2000 alumna before the game who talked to them about playing soccer for Princeton.

Whatley said the players enjoyed hearing from a former player who gave perspective to the experience after time away.

“I think the ‘X-factor’ was the whole idea that we were playing for something bigger than this game,” Whatley said. “Everyone was really motivated.”

Both Iatarola and Whatley were happy with how the Tigers performed.

“Every single person mattered. Every single person contributed,” Iatarola said.

“It was just a really good battle,” Whatley said. “People were feeling good about it.”

The Tigers prepared well for the game, Whatley said, and that preparation came to fruition with an important win.

“Our motto for the year is ‘grit,’ ” Whatley said. “We’ve been trying to really raise our level of intensity and physicality. [Saturday] was a great example of that working and of us taking our motto literally.”