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Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Women's Soccer to Welcome Villanova, ESPNU for Sunday Contest
September 13, 2014 | Women's Soccer
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Game 4: Princeton vs. Villanova |
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| 0-1-2 | Team Record | 2-3-1 |
| 0.58 | Goals Per Game | 1.61 |
| 2.03 | Goals Against Average | 1.12 |
| 14 | All-Time Series Wins (1 tie) | 7 |
The Series: The teams played annually from Princeton's first varsity season of 1980 through 1995 and then met six times from 2001 through their last meeting in 2011. Among those last six meetings are two that came in the NCAA tournament, a first-round Villanova win in 2003 and a second-round Princeton win in 2004, the year the Tigers made the national semifinals. Since that last NCAA meeting, the teams have played only twice, a scoreless tie in 2007 at Princeton Stadium and a 2-1 Tiger win three years ago at Villanova.
The Last Meeting: Only seniors remain from the last time Princeton and Villanova played in 2011 at Villanova. For Villanova, Kaitlin Hogman and Victoria Gersh played in the game, with Gersh getting an assist, and five current Tigers played that day. Lauren Lazo, who had the eventual game-winning goal in the last minute of the first half, played, as did classmates Melissa Downey, Jessica Haley, Liana Cornacchio and Gabrielle Ragazzo.
One More Time: Princeton head coach Julie Shackford announced that the 2014 season, her 20th leading the team, will be her final one. Shackford is four wins away from her 200th victory with Princeton, already having outpaced any other soccer coach in Princeton men's or women's program history. Shackford has led the team to six Ivy League championships and an Ivy-record eight NCAA tournament appearances, highlighted by the team's run to the 2004 NCAA College Cup semifinals.
The Coaches: Princeton head coach Julie Shackford, in her 20th season skippering the Princeton program, will for the third time in four games face a coach who is in the first year as head coach at his current school. Villanova coach Fran Kulas was named the Wildcats' head coach in December 2013.
Rookies: A total of six freshmen have already started games this season for the Tigers. Princeton started four freshmen in its season opener against Rutgers and five in the second game against Seton Hall and again at La Salle. Vanessa Gregoire, Natalie Larkin, Alessia Azermadhi, Katie Pratt-Thompson, Beth Stella and Mikaela Symanovich have all started games this season. In the 2013 opener, Princeton started just one freshman, Nicole Loncar.
A Head Start: Villanova is the fourth straight Princeton opponent to play its first regular-season game this year on Aug. 22. That was the date of Princeton's first practice.
On the Wildcats: Five Wildcats have contributed to the team's seven goals this season with no Villanova player scoring more than two. Senior Victoria Gersh and sophomore Katie Martin co-lead the team in that category. Sophomore Emma Meyer has played all but a half of the team's six games in goal and has a goals-against average of 1.57.
Happy Returns: Princeton brings back 24 of its 27 goals from last season, including the team's top four scorers from 2013: Tyler Lussi (10), Lauren Lazo (five), Melissa Downey (three) and Jessica Haley (three).
Returning with Honors: Tyler Lussi and Lauren Lazo are the only Tigers on the 2014 squad who have previously earned All-Ivy League recognition. Lazo is looking to go 4-for-4 in All-Ivy honors, while sophomore Lussi was honorable mention all-league in 2013. If Lazo, who was recognized as honorable mention as a freshman, first-team all-league as a sophomore and second-team as a junior, can earn All-Ivy honors this year, she'd be the first Tiger since Diana Matheson '08 to earn All-Ivy honors in all four years.
Breaking Through: Princeton scored its first two goals of the season in Friday night's draw at La Salle. Lauren Lazo had a goal on a penalty kick and an assist on Beth Stella's first career goal, giving Lazo three points in a game for the 10th time in her career. By scoring the PK, Lazo became the fourth straight senior to score a penalty kick goal for Princeton. The last non-senior to score a PK was Diana Matheson '08 in 2006.
A Strong Debut: Tyler Lussi's 10 goals last season were the most for a Princeton freshman since 1982, when Linda DeBoer '86 had 12. Jen Hoy '13, who led Princeton in goals in all four of her seasons, was the last Tiger freshman to pace the team in goals scored, doing so in 2009.
The Back Line: Princeton's back four are all new from last season, after the most common starting foursome of Gabrielle Ragazzo (now a forward), Kacie Kergides '14 (graduated), Diane Metcalf-Leggette '14 (graduated) and Fiona McKenna (playing only ice hockey) have moved on. Among the four starting defenders against La Salle, senior Lauren Lazo is a former forward, sophomore Jesse McDonough was an opening-match starter for the first time and Katie Pratt-Thompson and Natalie Larkin have now earned starts as freshmen.
Getting Forward: There are plenty of new faces in new places further up the field as well. Between the six players in the midfield or up top against La Salle, three are freshmen (Beth Stella, Alessia Azermadhi, Mikaela Symanovich), Gabrielle Ragazzo is a former back-liner, sophomore Nicole Loncar made eight early-season starts a year ago and Tyler Lussi, the only player among the group who was a Princeton forward a year ago, began her freshman season of 2013 as a reserve before getting 12 starts.
Between the Posts: Senior Darcy Hargadon, the most experienced goalkeeper the Tigers had entering the 2014 season, has played every one of the team's first 310 minutes and authored her sixth career shutout last Monday night against Seton Hall. A year ago, she accounted for five shutouts and 12 of the team's 17 starts in goal, playing 1,141 of the team's 1,620 minutes. The remaining three keepers on the roster, senior MicKenzie Roberts-Lahti, sophomore Hannah Winner and freshman Gudrun Valdis Jonsdottir, have played in four games between them for a total of just under 200 minutes.
Up Next: Princeton will head to Virginia for a two-game swing to Richmond and William & Mary next weekend, visiting the home state and the alma mater of head coach Julie Shackford.