The Tigers (12–4–0 overall, 6–1–0 Ivy League) defeated the Columbia Lions (7–4–4, 5–1–1) in a one goal nail-biter this weekend. In a critical matchup with the first-place in the Ivy League Lions, The Tigers came away with a season-defining 1–0 victory to clinch the Ivy League regular season championship. The entire match was tight, with the game being decided by just a freekick.
Off the opening draw, both teams started out cautious, with each team seemingly waiting for a mistake from the other by playing a controlled style of play relying on mostly short passes. The first big chance came from the Lions, playing a long ball to forward Nata Ramirez, who was tackled aggressively by the last defender from the Tigers. There was delight on one side of the crowd, but anger from the other as the Lions felt Ramirez had been tripped. This was the first of many physical tests throughout the match.
The Tigers were quick to respond, as just minutes later, senior defender Heather MacNab intercepted the ball and then found junior forward Pietra Tordin, who was able to take a shot from the edge of the box — warning the Columbia goalkeeper of her capabilities.
“I thought Columbia played better in possession, but we really made most of the defensive work and on the counter attacks,” head coach Sean Driscoll told The Daily Princetonian when asked about the match’s tempo.
From here, the next 20 minutes of the match was a pure back-and-forth, with both teams playing very physically to try to break through and get the first goal. There was passing, strong tackles, and good chances on both sides — a true battle between the conference’s best.
The first person to be carded in this physical match was surprisingly head coach Sean Driscoll, who received a yellow card for his complaints on the sideline. Soon after that, in the 34th minute, senior midfielder Lily Bryant was given a yellow card for a challenge she had on a Columbia defender.
In the 40th minute, Ramirez had another breakthrough on a counterattack, but senior defender Ryann Brown was able to make a strong interception and defensive stop. Ramirez and Brown had a strong battle throughout the entire match, as both of the experienced players played their role with tenacity.
From there, the half ended 0–0 with no other big chances from either team.
“The formation change helped a lot in the second half,” Tordin told the ‘Prince’ about the second half adjustments. “We switched to a 3-5-2 and from there we just had to keep reiterating and keeping up the energy.”
The match remained in a stalemate in the following minutes, but it all changed in the 63rd minute when Tordin took a strong shot that was brilliantly caught by the goalkeeper. Immediately after the save, controversy struck as the Columbia goalkeeper held the ball for a long period of time, leading to an indirect freekick call inside of Columbia’s box. With the entire Columbia defense being lined up on their goal line, Princeton spaced out around the box with Tordin in position to play the free kick with MacNab by her side.
As Tordin began her run up, MacNab tapped the ball to put the indirect free kick in play, and Tordin took the shot to score into the bottom right corner, taking the 1–0 lead by scoring her seventh goal of the season.
“Of course it feels great to score, but true credit to the team as a whole. [MacNab] was the one who told me to believe in myself and take the shot,” Tordin said. “It truly comes from all of us.”
“We have a really good senior class that sets the standard and is desperate to win games. They never stop fighting, and when you have good leadership with good seniors you are bound to do well,” Driscoll said.
In the final ten minutes, Columbia was desperate to score, as the Lions relied on long balls resulting in several different offsides. They were caught offside three times in the final minutes of the match before the referee blew the final whistle.
“Columbia has been in first place this whole time, and we have been chasing them this entire season, so this win is really huge,” Driscoll said. “The key to doing well at the Ivy League tournament this weekend is getting better, sustaining possession, and continuing to win the ball higher up the field in a composed manner.”
Next up, No. 1 seeded Princeton will set their sights on winning the Ivy League Tournament, hosting No. 4 seeded Harvard on Friday at Roberts Stadium. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 and No. 3 seeded Columbia and Brown will play for a spot in the final.
When asked by the ‘Prince’ what she wanted to bring into the Ivy league tournament this weekend, Tordin said, “I think the number one thing is belief, our captains have also been saying [that]. We have players who are capable of getting the job done, and bringing that into next week is what we really need to do.”
Daniel Eafa is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Correction: A previous version of this piece incorrectly stated that Columbia was in second-place in the Ivy League.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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