Women’s soccer drops Ivy League opener to Harvard 4–3

Women’s soccer (4–4–1 Overall, 0–1–0 Ivy League) fought until the very end but ultimately fell to Harvard (7–2–1, 1–0–0) for their first conference match of the season. In spite of the wind and rain, the Tigers were able to equalize by halftime, but couldn't find enough opportunities to follow through their attacks in the second half. 

On Thursday, Princeton Athletics announced that the match’s start time was moving up three hours due to anticipated inclement weather. While Saturday’s storm resulted in unpredictable playing conditions, the team was not deterred. 

“Honestly, we were anticipating [weather conditions] to be worse,” first-year forward Stella Monberg, who scored two of Princeton’s goals, shared with The Daily Princetonian.

The Crimson were aggressive from the start, barely letting the ball leave their half of the pitch and scoring the first two goals of the game. But Princeton wasn’t to be counted out, and within ten minutes of Harvard’s second goal, the Tigers leveled the score. 

For Princeton’s first goal, sophomore forward Nina Cantor sent a cross shot to sophomore midfielder Maddie Recupero, who rocketed the ball across the net and past the Crimson keeper. Cantor demonstrated teamwork throughout the match with assists on all three goals. Monberg then followed Recupero’s lead and equalized in the 37th minute.

The Orange and Black’s senior keeper Cecilia Cerone made two key saves in the first half, but was subbed out after halftime for junior keeper Sydney Romano to give them each even play time.

Entering the second half, Princeton was trailing in shots with six to Harvard’s eight. Over the next 45 minutes, the Tigers dominated the attacking game. They finished the match with 18 attempts over the course of the match, 10 of which were on target. The Crimson only had six shots on goal but managed to secure four of them in the net.

In the 75th minute, Harvard secured a fourth goal, putting Princeton down two. Once the ball was reset, the Tigers were fired up, and in under a minute of match play, Cantor delivered a cross to Monberg who finished the attack with a header, bringing Princeton within one.

“We’ve been working on this, so we’re finishing a lot in practice,” Monberg told the ‘Prince.’ “So it was really nice to have that payoff.”

Princeton brought in three substitutions in the final stretch of the game to maintain their momentum. 

The Tigers were unable to find the tiebreaking fourth goal in the final 13 minutes, but they maintained their momentum.

Recupero and Monberg each took shots that went just over the top of the goal, and senior defender Zoe Markesini targeted the net but the ball was saved by Harvard’s keeper.

“There were times when we were doing exactly what we wanted to do with the ball,” said sophomore defender Anna Chau. “Like moving it around through our midfield, and getting crosses in and finishing off those crosses.”

Crosses were a clear strength in Saturday’s match as they were how the Tigers scored all three of their goals. Chau was also key to slowing Harvard’s attacks with her steals and quick outlet passes to get the ball across the field.

First-year forward Gianna Camporeale kicked several great crosses but struggled to find a connection in the box. 

“I think we definitely did better at getting the ball into the box and finishing crosses,” said Recupero. “That’s something we’ve been wanting to work on, getting in the good positions to cancel those balls, and I definitely think that was a big improvement.”

The Tigers are looking to turn around their Ivy Conference record next week. Princeton will face Yale (5–5, 0–1) in New Haven, C.T. on Saturday, Oct. 3rd at 7 pm.

“Our ability to play together and our communication has improved over the course of the season,” Recupero told the ‘Prince’. “And we’re definitely continuing to build on that.”

Brooklyn Fraser is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince’. 

Please send any corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.

Correction: A previous version of the headline inaccurately reported Princeton’s number of goals.