.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Earns Seventh Seed, Hosts Central Connecticut In NCAA Women's Soccer
November 08, 2004 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2004
The Princeton women's soccer team drew a devil of an opening round opponent - and some serious respect - when the 2004 NCAA tournament field was announced Monday afternoon.
Princeton earned the seventh seed in the 64-team field and as a result will host a four-team regional beginning Friday afternoon.
The Tigers will take on the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils, champion of the Northeast Conference, in Friday's second game (approximately 7:30). Yale, one of three Ivy League teams in the field, will take on Villanova in the opener at 5 p.m.
The winners of Friday's games will play in the second round Sunday at 1 p.m. The games will be played at Lourie-Love Field.
"We're excited to be playing at home against a quality opponent," said Princeton coach Julie Shackford. "It should be a great atmosphere, and we're looking forward to it."
Princeton will be making its sixth straight trip to the NCAA tournament, and the Tigers were actually the first team to clinch a spot in the field when they won the Ivy League championship Oct. 29 at Cornell. Princeton enters the postseason with a record of 15-2 overall, a school record for wins in a season, and a 7-0-0 Ivy record, the first perfect league mark in school history. Central Connecticut has a record of 11-9-1 this season, but the Blue Devils are no strangers to postseason success. A year ago, CCSU upset Boston College in the opening round before falling 3-2 in two overtime to Connecticut, who eventually reached the national championship game. This was actually be the third straight NCAA appearance for CCSU.
Princeton and Central Connecticut have never met. The two have two common opponents this season, Yale and Hartford. Princeton defeated Yale 3-0 and Hartford 4-0, while CCSU lost to Yale 2-0 but beat Hartford by the same margin as Princeton, 5-1.
Princeton is 4-2 this season against NCAA tournament teams, having defeated Texas A&M (the No. 9 seed), Harvard and both potential second round opponents, Yale and Villanova. Princeton's two losses are also against teams in the NCAA field, Wake Forest and Colgate.
Princeton last hosted the NCAA tournament in 2001, when the Tigers defeated Loyola and lost to Rutgers.
The Tigers finished the regular season with a 4-1 win over Penn Saturday night. Esmeralda Negron, who had three goals and an assist in that game, was named Ivy League Player of the Week for the third time in four weeks.
The complete draw can be found at www.ncaasports.com.