Women's Soccer: Bartholomew nets lone goal

It was a mild 60 degrees at kickoff on Saturday evening, and the sizeable home crowd filled Roberts Stadium with palpable energy.

The Tigers (7-4 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) began the first half struggling with the Bears (5-4-3, 0-2-1) for possession of the ball. The play went back and forth, and neither team seemed able to control the game.

“It was a very tough game to get control of,” junior center midfielder Sara Chehrehsa said. “There were times where we had the ball and did great things with it, and then there were a lot of times where we didn’t, and really just worked hard defensively. It was hard to find our rhythm at first.”

Once the Tigers were able to settle the ball and maintain possession, they had several successful combinations and used the width of the field to penetrate Brown’s defense. In a 4-5-1 line up, they found sophomore forward Caitlin Blosser and distributed from the center midfielders out wide. The outside midfield quartet of sophomore Rachel Saunders, sophomore Jen Hoy, senior Lauren Whatley and sophomore Stephanie Iantorno had speed that the visitors could not match.

The Bears, however, were able to counter-attack and put pressure on the Tigers’ defense. In the 17th minute, Brown forward Rachel Pack was able to get off a dangerous shot that went slightly wide to the left. Princeton freshman Kacie Kergides and sophomore Alison Nabatoff held strong at center back, anticipating several balls played into Brown forwards and directing play out of the back by maintaining possession.

Saunders and Hoy substituted in in the 25th minute, and the Tigers got control of the ball. With fresh legs, the Tigers were able to press the Bears’ defense. Blosser was fouled in the 26th minute, giving Kergides the chance to serve a ball into the box. Unfortunately for Princeton, Blosser’s header was slightly off target to the left of the goal.

Finally, after several failed attacks, Saunders carried the ball up the right side of the field and played the ball to Hoy, who came away with a Princeton corner. Kergides played a well-placed ball to Blosser’s head, who did enough to direct it off Bartholomew’s head and into the goal to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute.

“We knew that Brown played a zone defense on corner kicks,” Blosser said. “So I tried to isolate myself at the back post. Kacie’s ball soared perfectly over the defender’s head. All I had to do was head the ball back towards the goal and it seemed to skim Kalie’s head.”

Princeton was able to hold its 1-0 lead throughout the second half, coming out strong and pressuring the Bears’ defense. In the 64th minute, Whatley almost added another goal to the scoreboard when she drove a shot off the crossbar. Sophomore goalie Kristin Watson made five saves to keep Brown scoreless.

“We had a lot more pressure in the second half,” Nabatoff said. “Brown started to push players forward looking for a goal, but we were able to handle it well. I think the defense had a pretty strong game all around. We have struggled with defensive set pieces throughout the year, and I think this game we really handled them well.”

The Tigers are satisfied with their 1-0 win over the Bears, which keeps them undefeated in the Ivy League. This is the sixth season in 11 years that Princeton has opened the Ivy League 3-0.

“All in all, I’m really happy with the score and the fact that we capitalized on a corner kick,” Chehrehsa said. “Last season we had a lot of corner kicks and didn’t capitalize on them. This year, we made it one of our team goals, and were able to achieve that.”

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The Tigers hope to continue their Ivy League success on the road when they play Columbia (7-2-2, 2-0-1) on Saturday.

“We’re very excited to be 3-0 in the Ivy League,” Blosser said. “All of us are looking forward to keep the streak going with a win over Columbia. Our goal is to win an Ivy League title, and every year the race is so close that the best way to solidify a title is to win every game.”

Before continuing their Ivy League season against Columbia, Princeton will take on Lehigh (6-2-2) in its last non-league game of the season at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m.