The Tigers (6-4 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) dominated the flow of the game from the kickoff, but the Eagles (4-9) struck first with a sliding finish, when midfielder Kendra Jones capitalized on a dangerous cross in the ninth minute. The Tigers immediately answered with increasingly physical play and consistent possession in the offensive half.
Despite the increased intensity, the Eagles stood firm, using every tool at their disposal. The Eagles deprived Princeton of a number of promising opportunities by catching the Tigers offside with well-executed traps. They also generated some offensive momentum with a narrowly missed shot off the goalpost from range.
After a couple promising shots on goal, sophomore forward Jen Hoy put the Tigers on the board in the 31st minute by burying a rebound off the crossbar from a shot by sophomore midfielder Rachel Saunders. Princeton maintained control through much of the rest of the first half and continued to generate scoring chances.
Hoy’s quickness on offense produced a couple of legitimate scoring chances, and the Tigers were awarded three corner kicks in the five minutes before halftime, but the Eagles managed to hold the score at 1-1 going into halftime.
The Eagles and the Tigers came out of halftime with more physical attitudes, and both were eager to put themselves ahead in the 1-1 deadlock.
“The mentality of the team picked up after the first half,” senior midfielder and co-captain Alex Valerio said. “We were more cognizant of what we needed to do.”
The Eagles initially stalled some of Princeton’s offensive drive, and the beginning of the second half saw more contention for possession around midfield. It began raining 15 minutes into the second half, making ball control more difficult and decreasing the accuracy of some of Princeton’s shots from distance.
The Tigers’ first big opportunity of the second half came on a corner kick, when two consecutive shots on goal were blocked by the American back line. With 10 minutes left in the second half, Hoy generated a one-on-one opportunity with American goalkeeper Lindsey Farthing. From just inside the penalty box, Hoy took a quick shot out of the air to the left side of the goal, but Farthing managed to parry the shot up into the air and out of trouble.
The last five minutes of the second half looked increasingly desperate for both teams as the conditions and fatigue continued to mount.
After 90 minutes of regulation, the score was still tied, so play resumed in a high-intensity, 10-minute golden-goal overtime period. The Eagles regained momentum.
“The attitude in the overtimes was similar to the attitude in the second half, but we were pressing even more,” Valerio explained.
The first overtime provided few scoring opportunities for either team — with the exception of one strong American shot that sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Watson corralled with one minute left in the period.
With the score still tied after 100 minutes of play, the game moved to a second 10-minute golden-goal overtime. If these 10 minutes expired without a goal, the game would have ended in a 1-1 draw. Unfortunately for the Tigers, with two minutes left in double overtime, midfielder Brooke Sheppard collected a pass from teammate and fellow midfielder Kristin Piorun directly in front of the Tiger goal and ripped a hard shot. Watson was positioned well and reacted quickly, parrying the head-level shot upward, but the momentum of the monster shot from 12 yards out carried the ball enough to sneak under the crossbar.
“It was an unfortunate loss,” Valerio said. “We’ve had a string of good games. We didn’t play badly today, and we need to be confident in our ability.”
The Tigers return to Ivy League play on Saturday, Oct. 9, when they host Brown.
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