Women's soccer continues roll with pair of one-goal victories

It was Friday the 13th.

The moon was full.

At Lourie-Love Field, bodies were flying. But it wasn't a cheap horror film — it was the women's soccer team defeating Brown in a very physical Ivy League game.

In a battle of conference undefeated teams, both knew it was going to be a low-scoring game.

The defenses of the league rivals had given up only five goals between them, and three of the nation's top goalkeepers were scheduled to play in the net.

It was the Tigers (10-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) who came out victorious, 1-0, sending them to the top of the Ivy League.

In the second game of the weekend, Princeton took on Boston University (9-5) in an ugly brawl, but came out with another 1-0 win.

In Friday's fight for Ivy League dominance, the Tiger offense came out strong in the first half.

Several times during the first half, Princeton attackers were able to get past the Bear goalkeeper, but each time a Brown defender was able to save the ball off of the goal line.

Breakthrough

After several close scoring opportunities, the Tiger attack came through on a Brown goal kick.

Senior forward Tanya Kalivas headed the ball back into the box, where senior midfielder Julie Shaner was perfectly positioned. Shaner took one touch and skipped the ball past the goalie for the only goal of the game at 20:38.

The Bears (9-1, 2-1) came into the game undefeated and had only one goal scored against them all year. Brown goalkeeper Mary Jo Markle had been leading the nation in goals against average, having let in no goals until Friday.

Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"They came in with confidence, but we just took it to them," head coach Julie Shackford said.

Early in the second half, it seemed as though Princeton's momentum was dying, but no Brown attacker was able to break the defense. By the end of the half, the Tigers had moved the ball back to the Brown end of the field.

It was a game full of contact, with bodies flying at all ends of the field. Brown is known as being a very physical team, but the Tigers did not let themselves be pushed around.

"We knew Brown was going to be physical, so we just gave it back to them," junior midfielder Linley Gober said.

Sunday's game against BU was a physical one as well. It was a much sloppier game, with plenty of missed opportunities and poor passes.

Again, however, Princeton struck early. At 31:05, junior defender Kelly Sosa was able to get clear after a free kick taken just outside the box. She had a good look at the net, then took a wide open shot that went past the goalie's outstretched arms.

Most of the rest of the game was a midfield battle. Though the game was no more physical than Friday's, two Tigers — sophomores midfielder Alex Fiore and forward Krista Ariss — were given yellow cards.

"Both teams had big conference games Friday," Shackford said. "They were just exhausted, and the play was ugly."

The long-term effects of Friday's game could be enormous. Since the Ivy League has no postseason tournament, the regular season champ takes the automatic spot in the NCAA tournament. As of now, Princeton is atop the league, but the Tigers still have to get past last year's champ, Harvard, whom they play next Friday.