Princeton University Athletics
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Numann Scores Twice to Lead Women's Soccer to Ivy Title
November 08, 2008 | Women's Soccer
PRINCETON -- Taylor Numann was five minutes from leaving Princeton without winning an Ivy League title. The two-time All-Ivy defender wouldn't let that happen.
Numann scored twice against Penn Saturday evening to help the Princeton women's soccer team to a 2-1 win in double overtime and a share of the Ivy League title, the program's sixth overall and fifth in the past nine seasons.
The goals, both of which Numann headed in off set pieces, came in the 28th and 106th minutes and were just the second and third goals of Numann's career. She last scored Oct. 14, 2006 at Columbia.
"Especially for our seniors, I think it was so appropriate that we all got a hand in the goals that we scored," a beaming Numann said. "It means so much to us to have the Ivy title and the possibility of a postseason."
Fellow senior Jen Om assisted on Numann's first goal, which came off a free kick, and Sarah Peteraf had the assist on Numann's second goal off a corner kick. The fourth member of the Princeton soccer Class of 2009, Lisa Chinn, became injured during the week and did not play.
"It had been my goal all season long to score off a set piece and it hadn't happened yet, so it was kind of like my last shot," Numann said. "I guess we made them count."
Princeton head coach Julie Shackford was also grateful for Numann's contribution in her final regular-season match on campus.
"She's come up on corners the whole year long and hasn't scored," Shackford said. "How fitting is that, that tonight, when your team is not playing great, that you get two set pieces and you can finish them both. It doesn't really get any better than that."
Princeton finished the regular season at 12-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the Ivy League. A Harvard-Columbia tie earlier Saturday, along with a Tiger win, would have given Princeton the outright Ivy League title and the automatic NCAA berth, but Harvard converted on a penalty kick with nine seconds left in double overtime to finish its season also at 5-1-1. The Crimson defeated Princeton 2-1 on Oct. 25, giving Harvard the automatic postseason bid.
The Tigers will find out Monday night at 8 p.m. on ESPNEWS if and where they will be headed for the NCAA tournament. If they are included in the field, it would be Princeton's ninth NCAA appearance, seventh in the past decade and first since 2004. Roberts Stadium, Princeton's outstanding first-year facility, remains a possibility for hosting NCAA tournament matches.
"I thought we had the better of the first half and then they had the better of pretty much the rest of it, but we capitalized on set pieces and that was enough," Shackford said. "We're thrilled for the seniors to be able to win a championship and bring the program back to a level we're used to experiencing, so we're excited."
Just 1:50 into the second half, Penn's Maggie Devitt tied the game off a Quaker corner kick, and Penn was poised to provide a late-season spoiler as it had a year ago at Rhodes Field. In a game where both were in the hunt for the Ivy League title, Penn's Kristin Kaiser scored in overtime to lift Penn to an eventual postseason berth. She almost did it again this year, firing a ball into the grasp of Princeton goalkeeper Alyssa Pont on a two-on-one break less than three minutes before Numann's game-winner.
"We have a lot of solid wins, so we'll just wait and see," Shackford said. "I'm just happy to be in this position. We haven't been here in four years."