Jovanovic scores early as women’s soccer draws with Villanova 1–1

Women’s soccer (4–3–1 overall, 0–0 Ivy League) was on the road at undefeated Villanova (5–0–3, 0–0 Big East Conference) for their final out-of-conference game on Sunday. The Tigers secured a 1–1 draw thanks to an early goal from junior forward Dylan Jovanovic and holding off a fiery Villanova offensive attack during a wet and rainy match. 

“I think it was an important game that showed our grit in not ideal weather conditions,” Jovanovic said to The Daily Princetonian. “Playing tougher games is gonna be big for winning the Ivy League this season.” 

Throughout the season, Villanova has featured a high-scoring offense, racking up 25 goals before playing Princeton on Sunday. Most of these goals came from dominant wins over Lehigh and Iona, in which the Wildcats scored nine and 11 goals, respectively. 

Villanova used a high press for most of the game to pressure the Tigers higher up the field. In past games, this tactic has allowed the Wildcats to force teams into turnovers and scoring opportunities. The Tigers adjusted their typical strategy of utilizing their midfielders to account for this press. 

“[We played] a different style of play than we prefer, which is a much more direct, over-the-top, and skipping the midfield,” Jovanovic said. “We usually feature our midfield because those are our most technical players. But [on Sunday] that just wasn’t possible.”

Instead, the Tigers tried to create scoring opportunities by bypassing the midfielders and sending longer balls into Villanova territory. This strategy helped create the Tigers’ one goal of the day. 

In the 11th minute, first-year forward Stella Monberg sent a deep ball to Jovanovic on the right side of the field. Jovanovic took advantage of a one-on-one situation and cut inside to her left foot before delivering a strike that would sneak past the goalie’s hands into the left panel of the goal. 

The goal put Princeton up 1–0 and was just the second goal that Villanova had allowed all season. 

“I cut inside because [senior Kayla Wong], my same-side midfielder, pulled out and took her defender with her,” Jovanovic said to the ‘Prince.’ “It opened up space behind the outside back that I was attacking, so all I had to do was beat that girl, and then I knew I had the shot.”

However, the last 12 minutes of the first-half swung largely in Villanova’s favor as they began to create more opportunities for themselves. In this period, the Wildcats outshot the Tigers four to zero and also scored their only goal of the day.

Villanova’s only goal of the day came in the 42nd minute, as they quickly counterattacked down the field after they stole the ball from Princeton.

Additionally, Princeton held Villanova to just one corner kick in the first half and only four on the day, allowing for scoring opportunities through set pieces. Going into the game, the Wildcats had been averaging just under nine corners a game. 

“They have [26] goals already in a very short season, and a lot of that’s created by turnovers and also their set pieces,” head coach Sean Driscoll said. “They’re very good in 1v1 duels in the wide areas, and they create a lot of corner kicks. We minimized that, which was part of our game plan.”

In the second half, the Tigers focused on their physicality against the Wildcats by competing for both first and second balls. 

“We struggled winning the second balls in the first half, but in the second half we won a lot of the second balls,” coach Driscoll said. “The biggest challenge for us was to manage their athleticism and their physicality.”

“I was happy with how we handled both those situations by showing equal physicality and a willingness to really compete at a high level.”

In the second half, Princeton saw a significant increase in their shot attempts, putting up eight in the second half to their three in the first. Both teams had eleven shot attempts on the day. 

The second half featured numerous close strikes from both teams that would have broken the deadlock. However, no team would end up finding the back of the net. 

In the 63rd minute, Villanova nearly took the lead on a shot that rang off the crossbar. Though the Wildcats had the first touch on the rebound, they could not quite control the ball, allowing junior goalkeeper Sydney Romano to collect it.

In the 79th minute, junior forward Alexandra Barry also had a look to take the lead. First-year forward Gianna Camporeale found Barry near the top of the box, who sent in a strike that would also clank off the crossbar. 

Less than 10 minutes later, Jovanovic had one more chance inside the box to take the lead. Once again, she cut inside to her left foot to shoot, but this time her shot hit the right post of the goal. 

“All in all, it was a tough matchup … It was a really good test prior to the Ivy League,” coach Driscoll said. 

The Tigers will play their first Ivy League opponent this season at home against Harvard (6–2–1, 0–0) on Saturday, Sept. 26. 

Jordan Halagao is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’

Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.