Princeton University
Villanova
Matheson's Goal Tops Villanova, Gives Shackford 100th Win At Princeton
September 10, 2004 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2004
Final Stats
Philadelphia - Diana Matheson's goal midway through the second half gave 20th-ranked Princeton a 1-0 win over Villanova Friday on the opening day of games at the Penn Invitational.
The victory was the 100th at Princeton for Tiger head coach Julie Shackford, who became the fifth coach in Ivy League history to win 100 games at a school and the first woman to do so.
Shackford's record at Princeton is 100-49-10, making her the second-fastest to 100 wins in league history behind only Bob Scalise, who earned his 100th win as Harvard head coach in his 125th game with the Crimson. Scalise is now Director of Athletics at Harvard.
"It's nice to say you've reached a milestone, but I think it's more about the players I've had here," said Shackford, whose career record is now 142-70-16, including her four years at Carnegie Mellon. "I've had some wonderful kids in this program, and this is something that belongs to all of them and to [assistant coach] Ron Celestin as much as it does to me." Princeton is now 2-0 on the season, with both wins against teams that reached the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA tournament. Princeton opened with a win over Texas A&M before taking on Villanova, who had knocked Princeton out of the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 win last November.
Villanova lost for the first time this season, falling to 4-1.
As in the NCAA tournament game, Princeton outshot Villanova this time around and had numerous chances to take the lead, but the Tigers did not break through until Matheson's goal slipped past Jillian Loyden with 24:37 remaining in the game. Matheson, a freshman who scored against Texas A&M as well, knocked in a shot off a feed from Maura Gallagher, who picked up the 11th assist of her career.
Princeton outshot Villanova 13-7 and did not allow the Wildcats any strong scoring opportunities. Perhaps the best chance came in the final minute when a free kick made its way past Tiger goalkeeper Madeleine Jackson, but defender Elizabeth Pillion knocked it away before it could get close to the goal.
Once again, Princeton's defense played without the injured Rochelle Willis, a first-team All-Ivy League and Regional All-America player who had started every game of her first three years. Rochelle's twin sister Janine, also an All-Ivy player, returned after missing the Texas A&M game but did not play much.
"It's been tough without them," said Pillion, who teamed with Brea Griffiths, Romy Trigg-Smith and Christina Costantino on defense. "They're such strong presences. They've been great for us when they've been on the sideline coaching us, but we miss them. We're off to a good start, and it'll be great to get them back out there. Hopefully we can keep pushing ourselves and build off of this."
Jackson made four saves for the shutout. The Tigers return to Penn Sunday to take on Vanderbilt on the final day of the invitational, which rotates between Penn and Princeton on a yearly basis. Penn played Vanderbilt Friday as well and will play Vanderbilt Sunday.
Shackford is in her 10th season as head coach of the Tigers. Her first win at Princeton came in her first game, a 2-1 win over Seton Hall in 1995.
"I'm fortunate to have played for two great coaches at Princeton," said Pillion, also a first-team All-America in lacrosse for Tiger head coach Chris Sailer. "It's been an honor to play under both of them. It's great to get her 100th win for her, and it's great to have it come against a team as strong as Villanova. They're a top-notch team. It's feels good to get your coach her 100th win against a team like that."