Women's soccer to face Boston College in NCAA Tournament

The Princeton Women’s Soccer Team will begin play in the NCAA tournament when it hosts Boston College on Saturday, Nov. 14, in its first NCAA tournament game since 2012. The match is the first NCAA tournament game in Princeton since 2004 and the first at Roberts Stadium, which opened in 2008.

The Tigers, ranked 34thin the NCAA RPI, received a favorable bracket, and will start off against No. 39 Boston College (11-6-2). The Tigers received the automatic Ivy League NCAA bid after finishing the season as the outright Ivy League champions, three points ahead of the second place team, Harvard. The Tigers received recognition for their strong performance this season just last week, when Princeton broke the top-25 on the NSCAA national poll, with a No. 24 ranking, the first time since the first week of the 2005 season the that the Tigers have been ranked.

Princeton is 13-3-1 on the season and 6-0-1 in the Ivy League, one of just four teams in the country to remain unbeaten in away games at the end of the regular season after last week’s tie at Penn on the road, before which the Tigers were the only team in the country to win all of its away games. The Tigers rank in the top 10 in the NCAA in four different statistical categories, ranking third in assists per game, sixth in points per game, eighth in scoring offense, and tenth in shots per game. The Tigers are also ranked 12thin total assists, 17thin win-lost-tied percentage, and 22ndin total points.

The Tigers have a deep and talented roster, led by junior and 2014 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, Tyler Lussi, who is tied for second place in the program’s all-time list for most goals, with 41 thus far. Lussi has also been named Ivy League Player of the Week four times this season and seven times in her career, both Ivy League records. Lussi also is ranked second in the NCAA in shots per game (5.88), ninth in shots on goal per game and 17thin both points per game and goals per game. Lussi is also 23rdin the nation in total goals and 27thin total points. Freshman Mimi Asom has also left her mark this season, and has been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week six times this season, with 10 goals thus far, the same number that Lussi scored her freshman year. Sophomore Vanessa Gregoire has had an impressive season as well, and is currently ranked 32ndin the NCAA for assists per game and 39thfor total assists. Junior goalie Hannah Winner has conceded only 1.05 goals per game this season, playing in 15 out of 17 games this season.

Boston College (11-6-2 overall, 5-3-2 ACC) finished the season on Nov. 1with a tie against the No. 3 ranked Florida State, the team that knocked the Eagles out of the tournament quarterfinals in 2013, its last championship tournament appearance. The Eagles are ranked 47thin the nation for scoring offense, 53rdin total goals, 62ndin saves per game and 69thin points per game. Junior Mckenzie Meehan ranks in the top 20 in the NCAA in five different categories, 10thin goals per game, 11thin total goals (16), 15thin total points and points per game and 20thin shots on goal per game. Meehan is also ranked 26thin game-winning goals and 28thin shots per game. Junior Haley Dowd also has had a strong year, and finished the regular season ranked 32ndin total goals, with 12 of her own, ranking 37thin goals per game and 40thin shots per game.

If the Tigers win, they will continue on to play the winner of No. 4 seeded Southern California and Cal St. Fullerton on Nov. 20or 22.