Women's Soccer: Women host Senior Night at Roberts

The game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m., but was moved up to 1 p.m. due to forecasted bad weather in the evening.

Last week, the Tigers (5-9-1 overall, 1-4 Ivy League) fell into an early deficit against conference-leading Harvard and could not find a way to recover. With that defeat, the Tigers officially fell out of contention for the League title and secured their first sub-.500 season since 1996.

Princeton has traditionally served as one of the league’s top squads and enters most seasons as an expected contender for the conference title.

“It’s uncharacteristic of the program to not be fighting for a chance to win the league,” head coach Julie Shackford explained. “At this point, it’s paramount that we finish on a positive note, and we have the ability. It will just be a matter of our passers being able to do their jobs.”

Princeton has struggled to finish games all season despite strong offensive play. In six matches this season, the Tigers have outshot opponents but came away with losses.

“It’s just a season long frustration to be able to finish our chances, and we get the good ones and hopefully we’ll be a bit sharper on goal,” Shackford said. She added that the Tigers will not be making any changes to their lineup in the following week.

Cornell (2-11-1, 0-4-1) is coming to Princeton on a four-game winless streak. The Big Red has fallen by a single goal in each of its previous three losses.

The Tigers should feel confident going into Saturday with a history of success against the Big Red. Last year Princeton bested Cornell in a 2-1 overtime victory, the only match in which the Tigers allowed a Cornell goal in the past five years.

In her 16 years at the helm of the Tigers, Shackford has dropped only one game to Cornell.

“I think Cornell is an exciting game for us,” Shackford said. “We haven’t been at home in a few games, and it is the last home game for our seniors.”

Penn, however, will pose a tougher threat for the Tigers. With 13 wins and only two losses so far this season, the Quakers have proven themselves to be very strong, winning four of their five league matchups.

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Most impressively, Penn has allowed a total of six goals this entire season, outscoring opponents for a combined total 34-1 in games that it has won.

Last season, the Tigers tied with Penn in a 0-0 game, giving the Quakers the Ivy League title. Penn currently sits a single point behind Harvard, the league leader, in the conference table.

Depending on other results in the coming games, Princeton could again make or break the Quakers’ bid for an Ivy League title.

As the season comes the close, Shackford and her team will keep moving forward to hopefully close out the season on an upswing. “We’re pumped to get back on track and finish the last two games on a positive note,” she said.