No. 11 Princeton (2–2 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) fell to No. 5 Syracuse (6–0 overall, 0–0 Atlantic Coast Conference) in an overtime game last Friday night, but rewrote the script against No. 18 Rutgers (3–3 overall, 0–0 Big Ten Conference) on Sunday to conclude a feisty weekend.
Seeing through Syracuse
In the first matchup, Princeton faced offensive powerhouse Syracuse, which scored 15 goals in their opener against Lock Haven. The Tigers, who have a new goalie this season, were able to hold the Orange scoreless for the entire regulatory 60 minutes of play. Ultimately, however, that wasn’t enough.
The first quarter was reminiscent of ping pong. Syracuse would lift the ball to get it across the fifty, but couldn’t get further into Tiger territory. Princeton took a different approach, dribbling their way down the field only to be stopped by swarms of Syracuse.
“Going into [the game] we really just focused on our defense as a team. And I think they do a lot of overheads, we practiced a lot of things they do in practice and then from there we trust the practice and kind of just roll as a team,” junior goalie Olivia Caponiti told The Daily Princetonian.
The second and third quarters came and went scoreless, and the officials started giving a slew of green cards as the competitiveness amped up. First, senior midfielder Beth Yeager sat for two minutes with a green card just under the four-minute mark. Then, Syracuse midfielder Bo Madden was penalized with a green card to finish the quarter. Sophomore midfielder Clem Houlden received a green card in the third quarter, and not even a minute later, Syracuse midfielder Aiden Drabick did too.
The fourth quarter followed the same pattern: runs for each team, but no goals to show for it. Syracuse player Lana Hamilton received a yellow card and sat the rest of regulation out, and since neither team could get the ball in the goal to stop playing, the game was sent to overtime.
This overtime was the first of the season for the Tigers, but Syracuse had just come off a win against No. 12 Ohio State that took double overtime to decide.
The Tigers had the first possession of OT, but couldn’t capitalize on their touches in the circle. On the flip side, Syracuse made it past the 25 and won a corner at 4:31. That call was then reviewed and officials upgraded the call on the field to a penalty stroke. With only her second career start, Caponiti was the only thing stopping Syracuse from taking the game.
“When the call was made, I honestly think it was a hard call, but I think mentally I put away the entire game and I did my best,” Caponiti told the ‘Prince.’ “It was an exciting moment and it could have gone either way. So yeah, unfortunate ending, but I think we have a lot to go this season,” she concluded.
“You just need one corner, one break, if you don’t have a shot, just win a corner,” Head Coach Carla Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’ “It takes a lot of mental resilience playing a 60 minute game and then to get back in the set in overtime.”
Racing against Rutgers
In the next top 20 matchup of the weekend, the Tigers experienced yet another OT game, but they were able to get the ball in the goal and defeat Rutgers 1–0 on the road.
The difference between the two matchups was the offense from Princeton. They were able to get more shots on goal during this game than against the Syracuse squad, outshooting the Scarlet Knights 19–5.
Despite the strong offense, a missed penalty stroke from Yeager in the fourth quarter pushed a 0–0 matchup into OT. With the missed opportunity, the Tigers were now forced to go to overtime for a second straight game.
“The first thing we said going into the huddle was that you have to take this opportunity. You can either play scared or you guys can step out and just go get this,” Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’ “You have dominated the whole game. You have nothing to be ashamed of for the first 60 minutes. Just go close the door on this game and take it. Just go do it.”
And do it they did. Everything seemed to come together for the Tigers in overtime. Caponiti came up big in goal, deterring Rutgers’ shot attempt. Then, it was Princeton who got the corner call in post-regulation gameplay. Sophomore forward Lilly Wojcik inserted the ball to Yeager, who flicked it, and junior midfielder Ella Cashman tipped it past Rutgers’ defense. The Tigers were able to pull away with the 1–0 victory.
The turnaround from the game versus Syracuse leads the Tigers into Ivy League play. They are set to face the University of Pennsylvania (2–2 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) on Friday.
Emilia Reay is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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