.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Princeton's 28th Season of Women's Soccer to Begin Friday in Boston
August 27, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Princeton vs. Connecticut
Fri., Aug. 31 at 4 p.m.
Boston University's Nickerson Field
All-Time Series: Connecticut leads 5-1-1
Last Meeting: 2005 in Storrs, Conn. (Tied, 1-1)
UConn head coach: Len Tsantiris (27th season/Connecticut '77)
Princeton at Boston University
Sat., Sept. 2 at 3 p.m.
Boston University's Nickerson Field
All-Time Series: Princeton leads 4-1-2
Last Meeting: 2006 in West Windsor, N.J. (BU won, 2-0)
BU head coach: Nancy Feldman (13th season/UMass '83)
2006 records: Princeton 8-7-1, Boston Univ. 13-5-3, UConn 11-7-4
On the Terrier Classic
Princeton, BU, UConn and Stanford will make up the four-team tournament this weekend at Boston University's Nickerson Field. Princeton and Connecticut will start things off at 4 p.m. Friday, with BU and Stanford following at 7 p.m. Sunday, Stanford and UConn will go at noon, followed by Princeton and BU at 3 p.m. In a trend that will continue through the weekend, Princeton has never faced Stanford.
0-fer
The Princeton defense, all with Maren Dale in goal, carries a shutout streak of 393:13 into the 2007 season. Though it doesn't count toward that total, Princeton also blanked Bucknell, St. John's, Columbia and La Salle in spring games this year.
More shutout
Princeton's shutout streak of four-plus games is the longest since 2001, when the Tigers started the season with five straight shutouts. If Princeton continues through the weekend without a goal, it will represent the longest shutout streak in more than 20 years and the second-longest all-time. Princeton blanked its last seven opponents of 1985 and first of 1986.
Shackford nears record
Princeton head coach Julie Shackford enters her 13th season at Princeton with 133 wins. Having long since assumed the title of all-time winningest women's coach in school history, Shackford is only three wins from tying Jimmy Reed, who coached the men's squad from 1938-66.
Temporary home, new home
Princeton will be playing its 2007 home schedule on Powers Field at Princeton Stadium while its new home, Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium, is built for the 2008 season.
Tough sked
Seven of Princeton's opponents are ranked or receiving votes in the preseason polls for NSCAA/adidas and/or SoccerBuzz.com.
| | NSCAA/adidas | SoccerBuzz.com |
| Notre Dame (Sept. 14) | 2 | 3 |
| Rutgers (Oct. 2) | 12 | 16 |
| UConn (Aug. 31) | 16 | 10 |
| Boston Univ. (Sept. 2) | RV | RV |
| Villanova (Sept. 7) | RV | 20 |
| Dartmouth (Sept. 30) | RV | |
| Washington State (Sept. 16) | | RV |
Senior captains
Diana Matheson and Maren Dale will serve as captains for the 2007 season. It is Matheson's third straight year as captain.
New kids on the pitch
Princeton has eight freshmen this year, bringing the roster to 23. The newcomers are across all positions, with one defender (Marissa Sampias), three midfielders (Kayleigh Iatarola, Libby van Beuren and Lauren Whatley), one midfielder/defender (Bernie Da Costa) and one midfielder/forward (Alexandra Valerio). Two more freshmen are goalkeepers, with Jillian Hewitt and Aly Pont joining sophomore Jesse George-Nichol behind senior Maren Dale.
10 going on 11?
By winning its last four games of the 2006 season, Princeton closed out its 10th straight winning campaign and 11th in 12 years under head coach Julie Shackford.
All-Ivy honorees
Princeton will return both of its first-team All-Ivy honorees from 2006 in senior Diana Matheson and junior Taylor Numann. Junior Jen Om received honorable mention last year.
Princeton represents North America
Princeton's 23-woman roster represents 13 states and the province of Ontario in Canada. Senior Diana Matheson and freshman Alexandra Valerio are the two Canadians on the roster.
Soccer service
Junior Sarah Peteraf spent two months teaching soccer in Costa Rica through a program sponsored by Pura Vida Coffee in Seattle.
An NCAA feel
Six of Princeton's opponents this season were among the 64 teams in the NCAA tournament last year. UConn, which advanced to the second round, defeated Columbia in the first round last year, while Villanova and Rutgers were both second-round teams. Boston University was in the draw as well, and Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA final a year after winning the title.
Bringing 'em back
Princeton returns 22 of its 27 goals from last year and its two high scorers, Diana Matheson (eight) and Vicki Anagnostopoulos (six).
What a performance
Vicki Anagnostopoulos tied a school record by scoring four goals against Harvard last year, all in less than 60 minutes of play. Anagnostopoulos scored eight minutes into the game, then again in the 49th minute and twice more 33 seconds apart in the 56th minute before being taken out of the game. She is the only freshman to score four in a game as the other three to do so, most recently Jennie Platt in 1998, were sophomores.
Senior class
In addition to captains Diana Matheson and Maren Dale, the Princeton soccer class of 2008 includes Regina Yang, Ashley Beyers and Melissa Whitley.
One soggy September day
The Tigers and Terriers will meet up on Sept. 2 for the second straight year. In 2006, the game was moved to a turf field at Mercer County Community College because of a heavy rainstorm. BU got a goal in each half and spoiled Princeton's season opener 2-0.
More weather
It doesn't look like Princeton will have to worry about rain this weekend. Forecasts call for perfect weather in the mid-to-high 70s with mostly sunny skies in Boston all weekend.
History with the Terriers
Boston University has been a common non-conference opponent in the Julie Shackford era. The teams have met seven times since 1997, Shackford's third year. Princeton holds a 4-1-2 advantage in the series with last year's loss as the Tigers' first against the Terriers. In Boston, Princeton won 1-0 in 1998, 2-1 in overtime in 2002 and tied 2-2 in 2005.
Tying times in New England
Princeton played both UConn and Boston University in 2005 as the Tigers visited Connecticut on their way to Boston. Princeton tied UConn 1-1 on a goal by current senior Diana Matheson and finished square with BU 2-2 with both goals coming from Emily Behncke '06.
History with UConn
The Huskies and Tigers played six times in the 1980s, last in 1988, and not again until 2005 when the teams tied. This year's meeting will be the first on a neutral field.
Go Raiders!
Two goalkeepers from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida will be in attendance Sunday with Princeton senior Maren Dale and BU netminder Janie Reilly.
Career night
Lauren Basham, a senior on the current BU squad, had both Terrier goals in last year's meeting. Those were two of Basham's three goals on the season.
Terriers carry on
BU returns 19 of its 25 goals from last year, including leading scorer Farrell McClernon (seven goals). Despite losing goalkeeper Stephanie Dreyer, who started 19 of 21 games last year, BU returns senior Christina Rueter. In 2006, Rueter allowed four goals in nearly 209 minutes of play, making two starts. Dreyer was in goal against the Tigers last year.
Huskies return plenty
UConn returns 36 of its 40 goals from last season, including its top six scorers. Junior Brittany Taylor and senior Meghan Schnur each had seven goals last year. In the net, both goaltenders from a year ago are back with junior Stephanie Labbe and sophomore Amanda Schwartz.
Garden State represented
Princeton has three New Jerseyans on the roster in juniors Allison Williams (Mt. Laurel) and Lisa Chinn (East Brunswick) and sophomore Melissa Seitz (Basking Ridge). Boston University does not have any Garden Staters, but UConn has five. Two are from the outer reaches of the capital region in freshman Cory Bildstein (Stockton) and sophomore Lauren Ebert (Hillsborough).