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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Soccer Looks to End Skid at American Tuesday
October 15, 2006 | Women's Soccer
PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Princeton women's soccer team (4-7-1) will look to end a four-match losing streak against American, a team to which the Orange and Black has never lost in four meetings.
Last time out
Princeton fell to Columbia Saturday afternoon at the northern tip of Manhattan, 3-2. The Tigers fell behind 1-0 on an early goal, but Diana Matheson had the equalizer on a penalty kick later in the first half. The Lions added two in the second half before Matheson assisted Taylor Numann on a free-kick goal inside of 10 minutes to bring the Tigers to within one score of tying. But Princeton wasn't able to find goal number three, and Columbia celebrated its first win over Princeton since 1998.
The all-time series
Princeton is 4-0 all-time against American with meetings each year from 2000-2004 except 2002. The Tigers have outscored the Eagles 17-3 during the run, including a 7-1 rout in Princeton's College Cup semifinal season of 2004. Princeton has faced American only once on the Eagles' home field, a 4-1 win in 2003.
On the Eagles
American enters at 8-5-1 overall, but just 4-5-1 since winning its first four matches of the year. Princeton and American have played two common opponents this year, with the Eagles downing Richmond 3-0 (Princeton won 2-0) and tying Columbia 0-0 (Princeton lost 3-2). American is 3-1-1 at home this year and will be returning home from a four-game road swing. Senior forward Jana Lee has six of American's 21 goals and senior Alison Doyle has spent every minute in goal, earning a 1.09 GAA.
Getting some experience
If you're one of the 22 players on the Princeton roster, you've seen action this year. Nineteen of the 22 have earned at least one start. The roster has just three seniors, after the Tigers graduated 10 in the Class of 2005 and seven more last year. Twelve of the 22 are freshmen or sophomores, a group that has made 71 of the 132 available starts this season (53.8%).
Going home
A number of Tigers are from the Washington, D.C. area. Freshman Vicki Anagnostopoulos and junior Melissa Whitley are from Silver Spring, Md., while senior Christina Costantino and sophomore Jen Om are from the other side of the Potomac in Virginia. Head coach Julie Shackford shares a high school alma mater with Costantino at Lake Braddock High in Burke, Va.
Local link
American has one player who grew up a goal kick from the Princeton campus in Plainsboro. While freshman Kelly McLaughlin is a West Windsor-Plainsboro South grad, her teammate, freshman Erin Stebbins, went to the same high school as Princeton senior Amanda Ferranti, Walt Whitman on Long Island, N.Y.
Ivy unkind
Saturday's loss to Columbia dropped Princeton to 0-4 in Ivy League play, somewhere the Tigers have not been since 1993. Princeton has three league games left, including Harvard Saturday, at Cornell Oct. 28 and Penn Nov. 4.
Matheson tallies the points
Against Columbia, junior midfielder Diana Matheson earned three points on a goal and an assist for her highest-scoring game since Sept. 10 against Richmond. That game capped a three-day span that saw Matheson earn eight points and Ivy League Player of the Week honors. She leads the Tigers with 14 points in nine games while missing three to train with her Canadian National Team.
Chasing a record
Julie Shackford's 129 wins at Princeton are by far a record for the women's team. She's approaching the men's record too. Jimmy Reed, the men's coach from 1938-66, had 136 wins.
Bucknell contest cancelled
The match scheduled for Oct. 11 that was postponed due to heavy rain at Lourie-Love Field has been cancelled and will not be made up.
Two home games left
Princeton has just two home games left, both against big Ivy rivals. Harvard will visit Saturday as part of what shakes out to be Princeton-Harvard Day around the athletic campus. The field hockey and football teams will take on the Crimson at noon, while men's soccer will begin at 4 p.m. with women's soccer wrapping it up at 7 p.m. Two weeks later, Princeton-Penn Day comes to campus. The night before, Nov. 3, field hockey hosts the Quakers, while men's soccer and football begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 4 and women's soccer closes it out at 4 p.m.