.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Soccer 2010 Season Recap
December 07, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Two natural rivals, Penn and Princeton, meeting for the Ivy League championship on the first Saturday in November. The winner gets the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and at least one more week in its season.
The Tigers have been there until the end in just about every season under Julie Shackford, and 2010 was no different. For the 13th time in her 16 seasons, Princeton head coach Julie Shackford guided her team to a winning season at 9-6-1 overall and 4-2-1 in the Ivy.
Princeton won three of its first four matches, the last of which was a 6-3 victory over eventual NCAA second-round team James Madison in which the Tigers scored their most goals since 2004.
After a 1-0 loss at Hofstra, another NCAA second-round team, the Tigers began the Ivy schedule with three straight wins against Yale, Dartmouth and Brown before a defeat of eventual Patriot League champion Lehigh in Princeton's final non-league contest.
The run through the Ivy League was not without obstacles for the Tigers, who suffered back-to-back losses to Columbia and Harvard to create a difficult path toward remaining alive in the Ivy race.
In the league's penultimate week, Princeton traveled to Cornell needing a win and help from around the league in order to set up a game of consequence in the finale against Penn.
With a Kalie Bartholomew goal six minutes into overtime in Ithaca, the Tigers grabbed a much-needed three standings points and, after the other results from around the Ivy came in, the finale was set.
In an unexpected turn of events, after appearing to be on the outside looking in with two league losses, the Tigers once again needed no further help to advance to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons. Only Penn and Princeton could win the crown, and those teams were meeting on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium on the final day of the regular season.
If the scenario could have become any more unpredictable, it did. Following an injury to sophomore Kristin Watson, who had manned the net for most of the season, forced sophomore Claire Pinciaro, who had yet to start a game, into service in a game that would decide whether Princeton continued it season.
Pinciaro couldn't have possibly done more. Keeping Penn out of the net for 110 minutes, Pinciaro picked up her first career shutout but remained one goal away from her first win after a 0-0 tie.
One goal separated the Tigers from the postseason, but Princeton showed tremendous growth from its underclassmen throughout the season. Sophomore Jen Hoy led the Ivy in game-winning goals, with four, and Princeton placed four players on the All-Ivy teams.
Sophomore defender Alison Nabatoff, who earned the team's MVP award, joined classmate forwards Hoy and Caitlin Blosser on the second-team All-Ivy League, while rookie midfielder Gabriella Guzman was an honorable mention. Hoy later earned a place on the NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region second team.
Sara Chehrehsa '12 and Alison Nabatoff '13 were named captains for the 2011 season.
Alexandra Valerio '11 won the Kathy Kobler Garrett '91 Award, given annually to that member of the Princeton varsity women's soccer team whose generosity, positive attitude, genuine consideration for others, and quiet energy makes her essential to the success of the team.