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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
VCU
Players Mentioned
Women's Soccer Plays VCU to Draw
September 15, 2006 | Women's Soccer
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Both sides had flurries of chances, but the Princeton and Virginia Commonwealth women's soccer teams played 110 minutes without a goal at the College of William & Mary's tournament Friday afternoon.
The tie is Princeton's (2-1-1) first of the year and first since a 2-2 tie against Boston University last September. It is also the first time since 2001 that the Tigers have played to a scoreless draw.
VCU moved to 3-2-2 on the year. The Tigers were without heralded junior midfielder Diana Matheson, who was training north of the border with Team Canada.
Princeton's best chance to score in the first half came in the 24th minute when Aarti Jain pushed a pass from the right side to Meghan Farrell. Farrell would have had clear aim at the net, but VCU keeper Lauren Hardison came out to smother the ball and prevent a shot. The Tigers took three shots in the first 45 minutes, but none were on net.
VCU took four shots that resulted in two saves for Maren Dale in the first half with the remainder of the Ram attempts just missing the goal frame.
Off another Jain corner kick in the 53rd minute, Taylor Numann picked up the loose ball and fired toward the net only to see the ball sail just high of the crossbar.
After two more chances in the next few minutes, including a shot by Vicki Anagnostopoulos that just got Hardison's hands and a near-miss pass from Lauren Thomas to Melissa Whitley for what would have been a tap-in, the momentum seemed to swing in Princeton's favor.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, the momentum didn't last long enough to score a goal. VCU had back-to-back near-miss shots with about 15 minutes to go in the game, and Princeton went 20 minutes without a shot while the Rams kept the ball mostly in their attacking zone.
The Rams' Paernilla Jansson forced Dale to make her most spectacular save in the 85th minute when she nearly knocked in a crossing pass from Stephanie Power. Dale sprung and dove to her right, keeping the game scoreless.
Princeton took the only two shots of the first overtime, with Thomas' attempt on a free kick in the 98th minute nearly ending the game until a leaping Hardison pushed it over the crossbar.
In the second OT, VCU had the only five shots. Princeton finished with 11 attempts and four saves for VCU's Hardison, while Dale saved four of the Rams' 16 attempts.
The Orange and Black will face head coach Julie Shackford's alma mater and weekend host William & Mary Sunday at noon.