Kane Gets Winner, Grossi Breaks Ivy Record as Princeton Beats Dartmouth in OT

Saturday, October 5

Hanover, N.H.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

4-4-2, 1-1-0

Dartmouth

7-3-0, 0-2-0

Princeton

Dartmouth

Natalie Grossi is the first player in Ivy soccer history with 30 career shutouts.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Kane Gets Winner, Grossi Breaks Ivy Record as Princeton Beats Dartmouth in OT

October 05, 2019 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

A perfect record isn't necessary to win the Ivy League, but championship teams can't leave too many points on the table, either.

With junior Olivia Kane's 94th-minute goal Saturday at Dartmouth, the Tigers left Hanover with three big Ivy League standings points two weeks into the season, beating the Big Green 1-0 and, with the shutout, securing the Ivy League record for career clean sheets for senior Natalie Grossi.

Grossi's record-breaking 30th, which makes her the first player in Ivy League soccer history, men's or women's, to reach that mark, came at the alma mater of the previous record holder, Dartmouth's Kristin Luckenbill.

"It means a lot," Grossi said of the record. "I was fortunate enough to play as a freshman and I was surrounded with such great defenders that they made my job easy. Now that we're here, it's exciting, but we're focusing on the season ahead."

End OT I Princeton 1, Dartmouth 0
The Tigers get 3 @IvyLeague points and beat Dartmouth 1-0! pic.twitter.com/oKrpQJayY3
— Princeton WSoccer (@PrincetonWSoc) October 5, 2019

Princeton coach Sean Driscoll has been with Grossi for her entire Tiger career, a span that has seen two Ivy League titles in Grossi's first three years and a trip to the 2017 NCAA quarterfinals with Grossi between the posts as a sophomore.

"She's a selfless player who is extraordinarily humble," Driscoll said. "If you asked her today, would I rather get a shutout or get a win, she would 100 percent take the win. I think it's a great testament to someone that's always made it about the team since she the minute she walked onto the field as a freshman. She's been a picture of sustained excellence since her arrival and someone we've always been able to count on. I'm extraordinarily happy for her. She's a very talented keeper and she deserves the recognition and the record."

Princeton improved to 1-1 in the Ivy and 4-4-2 overall with another road game up next, Oct. 12 at Brown.

"Most importantly, this was the most comprehensive performance we've had all season," Driscoll said. "We started very well and I thought had a very good first half, just dropped the level a little bit toward the tail end, but then again came back in the second half with a really committed and focused second half and then followed up with what I thought was a very good overtime."

Princeton outshot the Big Green 21-10 for the game and 9-3 on goal, but the Tigers couldn't get the go-ahead goal until extra time.

To start the play that resulted in her game-winner, Kane intercepted a Dartmouth pass just on the Tigers' attacking side of midfield and sent it back to Madison Curry to get the play moving forward. Curry then moved it ahead to Courtney O'Brien, who found Tatum Gee in the corner to serve it to a charging Kane for the finish.

"As soon as I saw Courtney play it out to Tatum on the right side, I knew she was going to go endline and try to serve it back post," Kane said. "I tried to time my run in properly and just get some part of my body on the end of that cross."

She did, and the Tigers are now even in Ivy play.

"I think everybody kind of has a new belief in what we're capable of," Kane said. "From an attacking point of view, getting a goal today was so monumental for confidence. We were so dangerous and have so many things to build off of to just keep the momentum going."