Women's soccer slips to Brown

The women’s soccer team suffered another disappointing blow in Ivy League play last Saturday, outscored 2-1 by Brown.

The Bears scored the first goal of the match in the tenth minute after freshman goalkeeper Natalie Grossi came out of the goal to defend an offensive attack. Brown’s Jennifer Caruso proceeded to slam in a rebound off Grossi’s defense to put the Bears up on the scoreboard.

An equalizer came in the 55th minute for the Tigers. Sophomore forward Mimi Asom capitalized on a controlled volley from freshman forward Abby Givens taken from senior captain Jesse McDonough’s corner kick. The sophomore forward skillfully finished Givens’ touch among several defenders to make the game 1-1 and score her fifth goal of the season.

The game was a competitive one. Princeton led in 14-8 in shots and 8-5 in shots on goal. The Bears, however, were able to finish a corner kick that Princeton didn’t defend successfully. Grossi blocked the first shot from Amanda Lane, but Brown won the scramble when Celia Story knocked in the rebound with less than three minutes to the final whistle to secure her team a 2-1 victory.

The difficult match-up was not unanticipated. “Brown is exceptionally improved," Head Coach Sean Driscoll remarked in the beginning of the fall season. “They haven’t lost this year and they have a new coach. They have a lot of life to them. I like the way they’re playing.”

The team now sits at a 9-2-1 seasonal record and 1-1-1 Ivy record, while Brown respectively now stands at 6-2-3 and 2-1.

The loss ended not only a 302-minute home shutout streak but also an eight-game undefeated Ivy League streak. The game also marked not only Brown’s first win in Princeton since 2006 but the first goal that the same team has scored in Roberts Stadium since 2008 as well.

The next Ivy League match is scheduled for next weekend at Columbia at 7 p.m. The upcoming face off will present another challenge for the Tigers because the Lions are currently sitting atop the Ivy League at 3-0 with nine points ahead of Harvard, Brown, Princeton, and Yale.

Senior captain Tyler Lussi perfectly summarized her team’s commitment to success despite the obstacles that the team has and will undoubtedly confront, “We expect to play at a higher level and we’re prepared to do the work to make it happen.”