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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Fairfield
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Players Mentioned
Solid Defensive Effort Leads Women's Soccer to Win over Fairfield
September 29, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Simple but important, those two aspects added up to a 2-0 win for the Tigers over Fairfield, giving Princeton back-to-back shutouts heading into an opportunity Saturday at home against Dartmouth for three more valuable Ivy League standings points.
"This one was especially important because as you go into the next Ivy League game, you want to gain momentum so that you're feeling good about yourself and you have confidence going in against Dartmouth on Saturday," Alison Nabatoff, a sophomore defender and an Ivy League Rookie of the Year honoree last season, said after the shutout.
Both the Big Green and the Tigers won their Ivy openers last weekend, Princeton 1-0 over Yale and Dartmouth 2-1 over Brown. The two teams join Penn and Columbia as first-week winners.
Against Fairfield, the Tigers held the Stags without a shot on goal through the entire first half while forcing Fairfield goalkeeper Kelly Boudreau to make nine of her 11 saves on the game before the intermission.
"I think over the last two games we've really come together as a team," Nabatoff said. "Our organization, not just in the defense but our forwards coming back and helping, really helps to lock it up and not let them in on us offensively."
Boudreau kept the Stags even until Caitlin Blosser broke through for her third goal of the season and first of two on the night in the 58th minute. Blosser took control of a ball near the corner of the 18-yard box, turned and fired a shot into the far top corner beyond Boudreau's reach to allow the Tigers to move ahead.
"Seeing us get opportunities is great," Nabatoff said of Princeton's chances on offense. "We finished in the second half, so that's all that really matters."
Blosser struck again 15 minutes later on a play that began with a Princeton corner kick. With Fairfield unable to clear, Tiger senior Lauren Whatley crossed a ball to Blosser in front of the net, and the sophomore headed it home for her team-best 14th point on the season.
Princeton goalkeeper Kristin Watson's three saves on the night all came in the second half as the sophomore earned her third shutout of the season.