Princeton University
Arizona
Players Mentioned
Arizona Holds On for 2-1 Victory over Princeton in Women's Soccer
September 08, 2005 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2005
Box Score
London King scored thanks to a rebound off a Nikki David shot with 15 minutes left and goalie McCall Smith made a key save on Emily Behncke moments later to help Arizona defeat Princeton, 2-1, in the first game of the Princeton Invitational Women's Soccer Tournament at Lourie-Love Field Friday afternoon.
King's goal at the 75:27 mark came after Princeton goalie Emily Vogelzang saved David's right-footed shot from tight range. Behncke then had the Tigers' best chance to tie the game two minutes later, but Smith deflected her right-footed volley over the crossbar and out of play.
Behncke had tied the game at 1-1 just 3:12 into the second half when she took a terrific feed from midfield from Diana Matheson, then weaved past the defense and deposited a left-footed shot into the lower right-hand corner of the net past Smith.
"I thought we really played well for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the second half," said Princeton head coach Julie Shackford. "But in the end we left ourselves exposed a few too many times and those times caught up to us."
Matheson was playing her first game for the Tigers this season after missing Princeton's two games this past weekend due to commitments with the Canadian national team. The sophomore had three shots on goal in addition to her assist on Behncke's goal.
Princeton (0-3) had fallen behind 1-0 with just under eight minutes left in the first half. A Tiger miscue near midfield left the ball on the foot of Gianna DeSaverio, who fed the ball ahead to David. David's left-footed shot then beat Vogelzang, who had come well outside the box to stop the breakaway. Each team had 16 shots and nine corner kicks in a game that saw several shifts in momentum. After the Wildcats (2-1-1) dominated possession early in the game, Princeton took control late in the first half and early in the second half. Arizona then had the better chances late in the game, including a DeSaverio breakaway attempt with two minutes left that was saved by Vogelzang.
The game was televised nationally by ESPNU as part of its national women's soccer coverage. Both the Tigers, who advanced to the College Cup semifinals in 2004, and the Wildcats were NCAA tournament teams a year ago.
The Tigers play Loyola Marymount on the final day of the Princeton Invitational Saturday morning at 11 a.m. That game will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by Patriot 8.