On Saturday, the Tigers (13–3 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) closed out their regular season, overpowering Columbia (7–8 overall, 1–6 Ivy League) 3–0 at home on Bedford Field. This win keeps Princeton’s nine-game win streak alive, as well as their 16–0 win streak against the Lions at home.
It was a physical matchup against a scrappy Columbia team. They brought the heat as soon as the game started. Players were falling throughout the game, and cards were being dished out to both teams. The Tigers didn’t let that deter them. Just two minutes into the game, Princeton managed to receive two attack corners.
“[Columbia] is very aggressive and very physical. They go for every 50/50 ball. You could tell that during every play they wanted to win, and I think that it’s admirable and it inspired our energy to keep playing all four quarters,” sophomore forward/midfielder Lilly Wojcik told The Daily Princetonian.
After the first 15 minutes, the game was scoreless. While neither team was able to bury a goal, the Tigers recorded seven shots to end the first quarter, while the Lions ended with zero.
“We had five shots pretty quick in the first, but nothing fell. Sometimes it just takes some patience to get a rhythm,” Head Coach Carla Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’
In the second quarter, the Tigers were quickly awarded another corner. On this play, senior midfielder Beth Yeager tried her drag flick, which set up first-year midfielder Caitlin Thompson in the circle to score. Thompson is the leader among Ivy League first-years for goals scored, and she is ninth overall among Division I first-years.
About four minutes later, the next goal came from sophomore forward Pru Lindsey. She dribbled around Columbia defenders into the circle toward the endline, but it seemed she had no angle to score. Her reverse stick shot was aimed perfectly, and the ball found its way to the opposite corner of the Columbia cage. The Tigers had two goals on the Lions going into halftime.
“They play quickly on their free hits and go forward quickly. So just trying to set quickly and get organized—I don’t think we did that well and that was the focus at halftime: just set quicker and get the structure so we eliminate this back and forth,” Coach Tagliente said.
In the second half, the physical gameplay did not let up. Princeton and Columbia were fighting for every possession opportunity. Throughout the entire contest, the Tigers controlled the ball and created offensive opportunities through their passing. The Lions, conversely, looked sloppy and inconsistent.
Princeton had numerous runs from passing sequences, but they weren’t able to convert those passes into goals during the third. Princeton entered the fourth quarter with 15 shots to Columbia’s zero.
The last 15 minutes of the game were all Princeton’s. Columbia did receive their first corner of the game to start the quarter and create their first shot attempt, but junior goalkeeper Olivia Caponiti saved it.
To put the game away, Wojcik scored her first career goal. Wojcik was able to control the ball off a Columbia save and fire it past the goal line.
“I was just really in the moment. I talked to one of our captains, Beth, and she gave me some tips because I was in my head about scoring. I just got in front and, as the ball was coming up to me, I was thinking go for it, and I did and I scored,” Wojcik told the ‘Prince’ about her first goal.
The Tigers pride themselves on getting the whole team in on the action.
“I think we’re hard to play against. We have stars, but our stars make room for other people to shine. That’s the team you want to have — people that make space for each other to perform well. We’re one of the few, if not the only team in the country that has stats that are spread out over such a large number of players,” Coach Tagliente told the ‘Prince.’
The Tigers are off to Cambridge to play as the second seed in the Ivy League Tournament. They are set to challenge the third seed, No. 16 Yale, on Friday. If Princeton wins the tournament, they will get an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Emilia Reay is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince’ and the Spanish Language Pilot Program Director.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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