Tigers prepare to start Ivy League play after strong start to season

After defeating Fordham 3-1 on Tuesday, the women’s soccer team is ready to begin its Ivy League season this weekend. The Tigers (4-1-2) are undefeated at home so far this season and aim to keep that streak alive as they host Yale on Saturday.

This year’s 4-1-2 mark is the best start the Tigers have seen since they started the season 5-1-1 in 2008. They started the week with a 1-1 tie against William & Mary on Sunday, with junior defender Gabrielle Ragazzo’s game-tying goal coming in the 81st minute to preserve their undefeated streak at home. The Tigers have not lost an overtime game since 2011 against Seton Hall.

“I think even though we tied, we played a really good game,” Ragazzo said. “We put two halves of good soccer together, and I think that was key for us going into Ivy’s especially. I think [the Fordham] game is just one more final chance to play together. Anytime we’re playing together, it’s good for us, and hopefully we’ll have a good game; that would be encouraging.”

Freshman forward Tyler Lussi had her first two-goal game in the win over Fordham (2-5-2), while senior midfielder Erika Hoglund added the third goal. Lussi leads Princeton with six of the team’s 11 goals this season, and junior midfielder/forward Lauren Lazo has been the second-biggest contributor with three goals. Ragazzo and Hoglund are the only other Tigers to find the back of the net this season.

The Tigers will need this offensive productivity as they have lost their last four home matchups against the Bulldogs (4-3) and all except for one of the Bulldogs' games— an 8-0 beating at the hands of Georgetown— have been decided by two goals or fewer. Oddly enough, the visiting team has won in each of the teams' last six meetings. Lussi, the top scorer in the Ivy League, will go head-to-head with Bulldog forward Melissa Gavin, whose five goals are good for second-most in the league. Freshman Geneva Decker is second on the Bulldogs with three goals this season.

Yale comes off of consecutive one-goal losses, most recently a 1-0 loss to Fairfield in which a goal in the final seconds of the first half doomed the Bulldogs despite a second half in which they outshot their opponent 8-5.

The Tigers will face the Bulldogs Saturday at 4 p.m. in Roberts Stadium.