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Princeton University Athletics
That Championship Season
November 27, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 27, 2000
The 2000 Princeton women's soccer team had a level of success to measure up to after the 1999 12-5-1 season that included an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the first invitation since 1983. The 2000 team met that level of success, and in many ways surpassed it, as the season would unfold to be one of the best in Princeton history.
The Tigers not only returned to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season but also won the bid outright. Princeton went 6-1 in the Ivy League to win a share of the championship for the first time since 1982, the first year of Ivy women's soccer. Princeton had to share the title with Dartmouth, but the Tigers took great pride in knowing they beat the Big Green in the regular season to earn their automatic berth to the postseason. It was also the first time Princeton made consecutive NCAA appearances since 1982 and 1983. Even though the Tigers did not best their accomplishment of the previous year by advancing beyond the first round in the postseason, they were able to accomplish things few Princeton teams had done before. The Tigers finished the season with a 13-4 overall regular season record, the most wins since 1981. Every win was a shutout, setting a record for the most shutouts in a season at Princeton.
Jordan Rettig was in goal the entire game for nine of those wins, moving her into a three-way tie for second for most shutouts in a season at Princeton. Rettig was ranked as one of the top goalies in the country all season. She finished the year with a 0.48 goals-against average, which tied her for the best average among goalies at Princeton. Rettig boasted a .869 save percentage on the year. The other four Tiger shutouts were a combined effort by Rettig and junior Catherine Glenn in goal.
Princeton scored 31 goals during the 2000 season and gave up only eight, a feat second only to the seven goals allowed during the 1985 season. Princeton had the sixth best defense in the country with a .437 goals-against average. Princeton also boasted the best shutout percentage in the country (.722).
The Tigers started the season with a string of wins, rattling off five victories before losing to Rutgers in late September. The season began with a 6-0 win against George Washington at home. Freshman Theresa Sherry made a name for herself in her first collegiate game as she came off the bench and scored two goals and added an assist. She also subbed in before the game as a last minute replacement to sing the national anthem. After that game, Sherry was the go-to player, not only in scoring goals but in singing as well. Sherry had another two-goal game against Cornell, ended the season as the team's leading scorer (eight goals, one assist, 17 points) and sang the national anthem before every home game.
Princeton rolled on, shutting out Seton Hall, Yale, Lehigh and Dartmouth. The 1-0 Dartmouth win, thanks to a first half goal by senior Amee Reyes, would prove to be a valuable victory later in the season.
The Tigers were undefeated at 5-0 and hadn't given up a goal to the opposition when neighboring rival Rutgers visited. The Scarlet Knights scored first and Princeton never responded, losing 1-0. The mighty had fallen, but not very far.
Princeton shut out Columbia and Delaware before losing again. Down 3-0 to No. 25 ranked Richmond in the Wachovia Classic at the University of Richmond, the Tigers were able to get on the board in the second half on a goal by Sherry fed from Reyes, but Princeton would lose for only the second time in nine games. Princeton went on to beat American in the second round of the tournament 3-0, on goals by Linley Gober, Krista Ariss and Reyes.
Princeton returned from Virginia and won the next two out of three games at home. First the Tigers faced Brown, the only other unbeaten team in the conference. The game was even more appealing because Brown goalie Mary Jo Markle had not been scored on all season. Princeton put an end to Markle's scoreless streak when senior Julie Shaner got the ball past the stingy goalie, scoring her first Ivy goal of the season in the 1-0 Tiger win. Princeton then beat Boston University by the same score as Kelly Sosa made her way into the scoring column.
Then the Tigers began their longest losing streak of the season, which was really no slump at all at two games. Harvard handed Princeton its only Ivy loss, 2-0 at Lourie-Love Field. Princeton previously had not allowed a goal in league play, but Harvard managed two goals on the Princeton defense that was leading the nation in team shutout percentage (.883). Loyola defeated Princeton 1-0 on the road two days later to give the Tigers' their first back-to-back losses of the season.
Princeton racked up eight more goals during its last three regular-season games. The Tigers shut out Cornell 2-0 on the road then returned home to drill Stony Brook 5-0. The last game of the regular season was at home against Penn. Dartmouth played Cornell the same day. A win against the Quakers and a Dartmouth loss would give Princeton the Ivy League Championship outright. Princeton defeated Penn 1-0 and Dartmouth didn't lose. Princeton and Dartmouth finished the season with identical Ivy League records and the title had to be shared. By virtue of the Tigers' regular-season victory over Dartmouth, Princeton had the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and a guarantee that its season would continue.
Princeton drew the 15-6-1 (7-3 Big Ten) Badgers of Wisconsin in the opening round. The two teams battled each other in the frigid air for well over two hours. In the 117th minute of play, with both teams fatigued and cold, a UW corner kick found its way past Rettig with just 2:10 left on the clock of the second sudden victory overtime. It was the first time all year that the Tigers allowed a goal on a corner.
The disappointed Princeton soccer team had failed to advance past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second time in two years. At season's end, Princeton had seven walk away with All-Ivy honors: Heather Deerin and Jenny Lankford were named first-team, Julie Shaner, Kelly Sosa and Jordan Rettig were named to the second team and Theresa Sherry and Liz Bell earned honorable mentions. The 2000 season was anything but a disappointment.