Women’s soccer crushes Yale in Ivy opener

Princeton women’s soccer (6–2–1 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) dominated Yale (5–3–1, 0–1) this weekend, netting three goals and conceding none.

The Tigers, fresh off a successful non-conference season that saw them with five wins, two losses, and one tie, started off Ivy League play with a crushing win over the Bulldogs. Senior Mimi Asom earned her first hat trick of the season, earning her the title of Ivy League Player of the Week and a place on Top Drawer Soccer’s team of the week.

The first half saw plenty of back and forth between the two teams. Princeton had five shots versus Yale’s six. Junior goalkeeper Natalie Grossi saved four of those, while Yale’s keeper saved one. The game was tied 0–0 until seconds before the half, when junior Tomi Kennedy launched one on goal after a pass from junior Courtney O’Brien, hitting the crossbar. Asom capitalized on the rebound, netting Princeton’s first goal of the game. In the first half, Princeton had three corners to Yale’s one.

Fewer than 10 minutes into the second half Princeton earned a corner kick, and junior midfielder Sophia Gulati sent a cross to Asom, who headed the ball into the back of the net. Then, in the 72nd minute, Asom dribbled past Yale’s unsuspecting defense and hit the top right corner, earning her a hat trick and the Tigers a sure victory.

The Tigers, along with their two goals, dominated the stats in the second half, with 10 shots to Yale’s five and four corner kicks to Yale’s zero. Each team’s keeper had one save. Grossi’s clean sheet this past weekend was her 20th while playing for Princeton, the third in program history, and the ninth in Ivy League history.

To add to her accolades for Ivy Player of the Week and a team of the week spot, Asom’s second career hat-trick puts her at 40 total goals in the Ivy League, the fourth in Princeton history, and 88 career goals, the fifth most in Princeton’s history.

As head coach Sean Driscoll pointed out, “Yale is the first game in the [Ivy League] season every year,” making the game something of a recurring rivalry.

In last season’s conference opener Princeton faced Yale at Roberts Stadium. Asom scored the first goal, and then-freshman Olivia Kane netted the Tigers’ second for a 2–0 win.

Women’s soccer takes on Dartmouth (5–3–1, 1–0) next Saturday in their first home game of the season. The Tigers look to continue their excellent form and are aiming for a championship season.