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Women's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
"I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to Princeton, a place that has had such a positive impact on me," Negron said. "I was able to help our program enjoy success during my time on the field and I hope to use what I have learned since then to assist the program in continuing to achieve those standards."
Known for her dynamic ability to break down defenders one-on-one and score goals in huge situations, Negron played in four NCAA tournaments at Princeton. She was a 2004 first-team All-America, a 2003 third-team All-America, a two-time Ivy League Player of the Year and a three-time first-team All-Ivy League selection. She won the von Kiensbusch Award her senior year as Princeton's top senior sportswoman, and she was named the No. 2 female athlete at Princeton in the last decade.
"Esmeralda Negron is the greatest player in princeton women's soccer history, and in many ways, the fact that she became a great player through hard work and dedication represents the values that our program has always tried to instill in our players," Princeton women's soccer head coach Julie Shackford said. "Her experiences as a player in the women's NCAA College Cup with Princeton, as part of the U.S. National Team program, as a professional player both in this country and overseas, as a Division I assistant coach and of course as a Princeton student combine to give her a unique perspective on our undergraduate experience. Her return to our program will serve as a daily reminder to everyone here of the endless possibilities for the Princeton women's soccer program and its players. I am honored to have her back and can't wait for the start of preseason."
Negron fills the role opened when Scott Champ accepted a position at Arizona State University.
"Both the athletic department as well as the women's soccer program are excited about Esmeralda's return to her alma mater," Princeton Director of Athletics Gary Walters '67 said. "Esmeralda was a terrific student-athlete at Princeton. She was a leader on our College Cup team and has always conducted herself with class on and off the field. She will be a great representative and ambassador for Princeton soccer."
For the last four seasons, Negron was an assistant coach at Seton Hall University, gaining her first coaching experience while helping the Pirates navigate the Big East Conference.
During her days at Princeton, Negron scored 47 goals as part of her 112 career points, both Princeton records for both the men's and women's programs. The unforgettable season of 2004 saw Negron score 20 goals with 12 assists for a total of 52 points, all Princeton single-season records, leading the Tigers to the NCAA College Cup semifinal.
She scored the overtime goal against Harvard that year to propel the Tigers to a perfect Ivy League record, and she had a goal and assist in the NCAA quarterfinal win over Washington that advanced Princeton to the Final Four, making the 2004 Princeton team the only Ivy League team in any sport ever to advance to the Final Four of a 64-team NCAA tournament.
From 2001-04, Princeton had an overall record of 47-12-6 and an Ivy League mark of 22-4-2, winning three Ivy League championships.
Princeton made the NCAA tournament in all four seasons Negron was on the team, advancing to the second round in her freshman season of 2001, three years before the run to the national semifinal.
During the summer of 2004, Negron also played internationally with the United States U-21 team in Iceland and was a member of the pool for the full U.S. National women's team. She has also played professionally for the New Jersey Stallions and New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League.
