Preview and Staff Picks: Women’s soccer Ivy League Tournament
For most of the season, Princeton women’s soccer (12–4 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) and Columbia (7–4–4, 5–1–1) sat atop the Ivy League standings. In the final game of the season, the Tigers marched into upper Manhattan and beat the Lions 1–0 to win the Ivy League regular season title and the right to host the Ivy League tournament at Roberts Stadium this weekend.
Ahead of the tournament, The Daily Princetonian previewed the four teams featuring this weekend during the tournament and offers its predictions for the semifinal and final.
Ivy Tournament Preview
The Tigers enter the Ivy League tournament as the one seed, and thus will take on fourth-seeded Harvard (7–3–5, 3–3–1). The other semifinal round will see the second-seeded Lions take on the third-seeded Brown Bears (6–4–6, 3–2–2). In the Ivy League, only the top four teams from the regular season qualify for the postseason tournament. All four teams also appeared in last season’s tournament.
Princeton
The Tigers head into the Ivy League tournament with 12 wins and likely have their best soccer ahead of them. For the first month of the season, the Tigers were without junior star forward Pietra Tordin, who represented the United States at the FIFA U–20 World Cup. Tordin was recently named the Ivy League offensive player of the year after scoring seven goals and adding two assists in her seventh regular season game. Alongside Tordin, seven other Tigers received league honors, including three first-team honors (senior goalkeeper Tyler McCamey, senior forward Heather MacNab, and senior midfielder Lily Bryant).
Led by head coach Sean Driscoll, the Orange and Black have been the best team on both ends of the field. The Tigers are scoring 2.125 goals per game on average while giving up only 0.56 goals. Princeton’s only weakness in the Ivy League may be themselves. Driscoll's side cannot afford to overlook the Crimson and take the tournament one game at a time.
Columbia
The Lions are led by defender Courtney Ruedt who anchored their backline en route to being named the Ivy League defensive player of the Year. Forward Nata Ramirez leads the Columbia attack and has six goals and eight assists for the Tigers. Outside of the loss to Princeton, the only other negative mark for Columbia in the Ivy League has been a draw to Brown.
Led by head coach Tracey Bartholomew, Columbia plays a more conservative style. The Lions have attempted the fewest shots all season from any tournament team, but have still remained clinical in front of goal, averaging 1.67 goals per game. Columbia’s backline is rock solid, but goalkeeper Lauren Rodriguez had not played significant minutes ahead of her senior year and may face some nerves ahead of the Ivy League tournament. The Lions lost in the Ivy League tournament final last season to the Crimson and will hope to come out on top this year.
Brown
The Brown Bears will be looking forward to facing Columbia. Last year, the Bears went a perfect 7–0 in Ivy League play, but were stunned by the Lions in the Ivy League tournament semifinal. This year, they will look to avenge the loss and play in the final on Sunday at Roberts Stadium. Bruno is led by midfielders Joy Okonye and Lexi Quinn. The two were both Ivy League first-team selections and have provided a lot of stability for the Bears.
The Bears season has been nothing shy of a rollercoaster. After earning its biggest win of the season in late September against Harvard, the Bears lost 8–0 to Princeton the following weekend which ended a 28-game unbeaten streak for the Bears in Ivy League regular season play that dated back to 2018. Most recently, the Bears lost to Dartmouth to close out the regular season, who sits in last place in the league standings. Only time will tell which side of Brown we see this weekend in the 609.
Harvard
The Crimson were picked to win the Ivy League in the preseason media poll after winning the tournament last year. Harvard had an incredible start to their season, not losing a contest in its opening eight matches. The undefeated run included draws against ranked Pepperdine and Santa Clara. However, once Ivy League play started, the tide turned for the Crimson as they failed to pick up a win in the opening three matches and were in doubt to make the tournament with four league games remaining. Still, the Crimson emerged victorious in three out of their last four matches and will come into the tournament hoping to beat the Tigers on their home field.
Harvard is led by midfielder Josefine Hasbo. The senior from Denmark was ranked as the 27th best player in college soccer heading into the season by TopDrawerSoccer and has seven goals and two assists. Midfielder Áslaug Gunnlaugsdóttir has seven goals and four assists for Harvard. Driscoll and Princeton are unlikely to be facing the Crimson, who could beat the many teams in the nation when things are clicking. If head coach Chris Hamblin can have his side playing their best soccer this weekend, the Crimson can easily win two games in a row and qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Staff Picks: Ivy Tournament Semifinal, Princeton vs. Harvard
No. 1 Princeton 3, No. 4 Harvard 0 – Joe Uglialoro, Staff Sports Writer
After beating No. 2 Columbia in New York over the weekend, the Princeton women’s soccer team locked up the first overall seed. Now, Princeton will hold home-field advantage at Myslik Field for the duration of the Ivy League tournament. Their test begins on Friday against Harvard, who they beat 3–1 in Princeton during the regular season.
Harvard has struggled against top Ivy competition, dropping three games against the rest of the tournament field. Though the Crimson toppled the Tigers in last year’s edition of the tournament, their luck looks to have run out this year. If Princeton’s elite offense led by Tordin stays in top gear and the defense is even serviceable, they should take this game with little trouble and get a strong start to the Ivy Tournament.
No. 1 Princeton 3, No. 4 Harvard 0 – Lily Pampolina, Staff Sports Writer
Going into the tournament at the top seed, Princeton has found much success against Ivy League opponents this year, and they do not show signs of slowing down. Princeton has not displayed a recurring weakness at any spot on the field and has proved the depth of their roster in boasting 14 different goal scorers this season.
Offensively, the Tigers have utilized junior forward Tordin as a goal-scoring weapon – in Princeton’s regular season game against Harvard, Tordin had both a goal and assist, and she averages a goal a game. After falling to Harvard in the semifinal of the tournament last year, the Tigers will be hungry to reverse the result.
From the Crimson, look out for forward Gunnlaugsdóttir who has had a goal against all Ivy League opponents this year.
Staff Picks: Ivy Tournament Semifinal, Columbia vs. Brown
No. 2 Columbia 2, No. 3 Brown 1 – Joe Uglialoro, Staff Sports Writer
In their first matchup, Columbia and Brown drew 1–1 in a showdown in Providence. Brown has limped to the finish line, with just one win — a narrow triumph over basement-dwellers Dartmouth — in their last four games. The Bears also fell 8–0 to Princeton in their matchup, showcasing that this is a team with significant defensive flaws and a chronic inability to score.
Columbia, on the other hand, brings a dominant team to town, one that rampaged through the Ivy League before late struggles against Brown and Princeton. Both teams are in their worst form since conference play began, but Columbia’s superior squad should make all the difference in this semifinal showdown.
No. 2 Columbia 2, No. 3 Brown 1 – Lily Pampolina, Staff Sports Writer
The matchup between Columbia and Brown is a highly anticipated rematch after the draw between the two teams in the regular season. Both teams have strong cases for a win, so it will ultimately come down to execution.
Columbia has looked strong all season, falling only to Princeton in the Ivy League. Columbia boasts four first-team all Ivy recipients, including defensive player of the year Ruedt. The Lions are experienced in coming back from deficits and often have very strong second halves. Brown has not come back to win a game from behind this season, and a determined Columbia offense may be too much to handle.
Staff Picks: Ivy Tournament Final
No. 1 Princeton 2, No. 2 Columbia 0 – Joe Uglialoro, Staff Sports Writer
Princeton defeated Columbia last weekend, but should not look past what will be a formidable test: Columbia led the conference standings until the last game of the season. This time they meet, the Tigers have home-field advantage and momentum. The game in New York was relatively even, with both teams within one shot and shot on goal of each other. Ultimately, it was Princeton’s defense that prevailed in that matchup, and it is Princeton’s defense that I expect to prevail again in this crucial showdown.
Look for the Tigers to grab an early goal by way of a set piece, then score again in the final minutes as Columbia sacrifices its back line to push forward in search of an equalizer. When the dust has settled and the final whistle blows, the Tigers will hoist the Ivy League Tournament trophy for the first time in school history.
No. 1 Princeton 2, No. 2 Columbia 1 – Lily Pampolina, Staff Sports Writer
Princeton only narrowly bested Columbia in their last matchup for the top-seed of this very tournament. If these two teams meet in the final, it will be no less tense.
The Tiger’s depth of roster is what I believe will put them over the edge. Though the team has several consistent goal scorers, points have come from many different players this season, making it difficult for Columbia to contain. Players like senior midfielder Bryant and junior forward Coomans serve as strong offensive options, and the Princeton defensive front led by senior goalkeeper McCamey has been extremely consistent all year.
Columbia is a strong team, but the Tigers look even stronger.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Joe Uglialoro is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Lily Pampolina is a staff Sports writer and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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