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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Texas A
Matheson, Negron Lead Princeton To 2-1 Win Over No. 5 Texas A&M In Women's Soccer Opener
September 03, 2004 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 3, 2004
Final Stats
Diana Matheson needed five minutes to make an impact on the collegiate soccer scene. Esmeralda Negron needed two more to show that she hasn't lost anything after an All-America season in 2003. Matheson, a freshman, scored her first collegiate goal 4:43 into the first half off a perfect give-and-go with Negron, and Negron banged home a penalty kick less than three minutes later to lead Princeton to a 2-1 win over Texas A&M in front of 618 at Lourie-Love Field Friday night. The win, in the season opener for the Tigers, was the 99th at Princeton for head coach Julie Shackford, who has won more games than any other women's soccer coach in Princeton history. Texas A&M, a Sweet 16 team a y ear ago, came into the game as the No. 5 team in the NSCAA rankings, the No. 11 team in the Soccer Buzz rankings and the No. 18 team in the Soccer America rankings. Princeton played without the injured senior twins Janine Willis and Rochelle Willis, who had played in every game of their careers prior to Friday night. Rochelle, who had started every game of her career prior to the Texas A&M game, was out with a knee injury, while Janine, who had started all but one game, was out with a deep thigh bruise. "This is a great way to start the year," said Matheson. "I was very excited. Shacks [Shackford] has been trying to pit Es and me together. I knew I'd get a good pass from her." Matheson deferred admission to Princeton for a year to play for the Canadian national team in the Women's World Cup and the Olympic qualifying. She made her presence felt immediately, dribbling the ball through traffic and getting it to Negron, who fed it back to her for the quick goal. Negron's goal, which came after Maura Gallagher was pulled down in the penalty area, was the 28th of her career. Negron is second all-time in goals scored in a career at Princeton. The Tigers outshot Texas A&M 7-1 in the first half, which ended at 2-0. The Aggies (2-2) had a great chance to start the second half, but Emily Vogelzang made the best of her three saves to keep it a two-goal game. Princeton had a huge opportunity to put the game away, but Negron missed another penalty shot with 25 minutes to go. A&M then got on the scoreboard when Melissa Garey scored with 7:32 to go, but the Aggies would not get another good scoring chance after that. "It was weird without the Willises," said Princeton's other four-year starter on defense, Brea Griffiths. "They bring so much energy and athleticism. I thought we'd miss them, but I knew everyone else would battle. I thought Pills [Elizabeth Pillion] and Cos [sophomore Christina Costantino, making her first collegiate start] would step up. Getting the early lead was huge. It gave us a lot of confidence." Both Princeton and Texas A&M took preseason trips to Europe last month. The game also matched two of the 19 teams in Division I who have played in the NCAA tournament each of the last five years. The Tigers return to action this Friday against Villanova in a game to be played at Penn; Villanova eliminated Princeton in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA tournament. "We want to play tough competition," said Shackford, whose team plays four NCAA tournament teams from a year ago in its first five games. "This was a huge test for us, and I thought we played well. We had good composure. Getting the lead was big. This game should give us a lot of confidence."