Women's Soccer: Scoreless weekend ends in pair of defeats

The women’s soccer team could not ease its early-season struggles, coming up short in two goalless losses against William & Mary and La Salle.

On Friday, the Tigers traveled to William & Mary to face the Tribe (5-1-2) but fell in a 2-0 shutout, Princeton’s first defeat of the season. The Tigers then returned to Roberts Stadium on Sunday to host their home opener against the Explorers, where they were handed a 1-0 shutout. With the two weekend losses, the Tigers’ record sunk to 1-5 this season.

All is not lost for the Tigers’ season, as four of the team’s five losses were tied at halftime. Head coach Julie Shackford explained that throughout many of their matches, they have controlled the pace of the game but have been unable to finish.

“We have controlled a lot of the tempo of the ball but haven’t been opportunistic enough,” Shackford said, “and [we] have been punished for the one or two mistakes we’ve made in the game.”

Throughout the match against William & Mary, Princeton had trouble holding back the offensive pushes from the Tribe. Junior goalkeeper Claire Pinciaro raked in nine saves as the Tigers held their ground before letting up at the 65th minute for the first goal. Soon afterwards, the Tigers allowed a second goal in the 73rd minute.

William & Mary outshot the Tigers 19-10 and put 11 shots on goal to Princeton’s three. It was the Tigers’ sixth matchup against William & Mary, a series in which Princeton has performed poorly and has only won once since their first game in 1991.

Sunday was a much different story for the Tigers. When Princeton took the field against La Salle (5-0-1) it quickly launched a powerful offensive front against the Explorers, racking up 13 shots to La Salle’s five.

However, Princeton could not gain any ground as La Salle goalie Melissa Sanger staved off Tiger advances with four saves during the match.

Despite the strong showing for the Tigers early on, the Explorers pushed forward in the 83rd minute when La Salle’s Kelsey Haycook picked up a loose ball in the box and maneuvered past Pinciaro for the only goal of the game. La Salle leaves the game with an undefeated record and has yet to allow any goals so far this season.

Shackford said that against La Salle, “The last 15 or 20 minutes, we started to really move their defense and create chances, get their keeper off their line, but in some ways it was a bit too late.”

As the Tigers edge closer to Ivy League play, Shackford said she believes the Tigers’ biggest challenge is “to be a bit more aggressive in the final third of the field.”

“We’re getting sharper,” Shackford added. “We’re just finding the right combinations and the right mindset.”