Tigers to Host Cornell Saturday as Ivy Stretch Continues

With three pivotal Ivy League standings points at stake, the Princeton women's soccer team will host Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Roberts Stadium.

vs. Cornell, Saturday, 1 p.m. | ESPN+ | Int'l Video | Live Stats | Team Yearbook | Free Admission | Pride Game & Let Her Play Day

The Ivy: Princeton remains very much in the mix for an Ivy League Tournament spot with Saturday's three potential points key toward that goal. Dartmouth leads the league at 2-0-1 with seven points while Brown, Harvard and Columbia are all next at 2-1, with six points. The top four teams make the Ivy tournament, so Cornell, Princeton and Yale are all chasing at 1-2, with three points, and Penn has one point at 0-2-1.

On Princeton: The Tigers (2-5-3, 1-2) won the league opener at Penn on Sept. 19 but dropped two close ones since, at Harvard and then at Roberts last Saturday against Yale. Zoe Markesini, who has been out due to injury since the Aug. 31 game against Syracuse, leads the team with two goals. Alexandra Barry, Nina Cantor, Ally Murphy, Pia Beaulieu and Sarah Houston have scored a goal apiece. Cecilia Cerone (1-3-2, 1.52 GAA, .636 sv%) has played 708 minutes in goal and Sydney Romano (1-2-1, 1.41 GAA, .769 sv%) has played 191 minutes.

On Cornell: The Big Red (3-4-4, 1-2) are on a five-game run where each of the five games has either been a tie or decided by one goal, and Cornell is 1-2-2 over its last five, with neither team scoring more than two goals in any of those games. Cornell has won or tied seven of its 11 despite scoring more than once in just one game, getting those results by allowing an average of just 1.18 goals per game. Sydney Allen and Alanna Colbert have scored twice each to lead seven goal scorers on the season, with five other Big Red players scoring once each. In goal, Samantha Qureshey has a 1.22 GAA with a 2-3-4 record and a .750 save percentage on the season overall, but in conference play, Natalie Medugno has played 180 of the 270 minutes, holding a 1.00 GAA and a .778 save percentage with a shutout win over Yale and allowing two goals in a loss to Harvard. Qureshey went the distance in a loss to Columbia, allowing two goals.

The series: Princeton leads the all-time series with Cornell 32-8-4 since the first meeting in 1980. Under Sean Driscoll, Princeton is 8-1 against Cornell and has won two straight since a 2022 loss in Ithaca, 2-1. In Princeton, the Tigers hold a 15-game win streak since Cornell's last win in Princeton, in 1993. In the 2023 game in Princeton, Princeton won 4-2 with current Big Red senior Abigail Bishara scoring a goal and keeper Natalie Medugno going the full 90 minutes with seven saves. In the 2024 game in Ithaca, Princeton won 3-0 with Isabella Garces and Alexandra Barry scoring for the Tigers. Medugno's appearance between the posts two years ago is the only time a current Tiger or Big Red player has netminded in the series.

Outshoot 'em: In 174 games under Sean Driscoll, Princeton has outshot its opponent in overall shots 133 times and has equaled its opponent in total shots three times, getting outshot 38 times, or in just more than once every five games (21.8 percent).

Preseason polls: Princeton was picked first and Cornell eighth in the Ivy preseason poll. The Tigers had eight athletic All-Ivy honorees last year but took a huge hit with losses to graduation and the pros. Pietra Tordin, who chose to forgo her senior season to turn pro with the NWSL's Portland Thorns, was the Ivy Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, and Lily Bryant, Heather MacNab and Tyler McCamey all graduated and went on to the pro ranks, with Bryant at FC Porto in Portugal, MacNab with the NWSL's North Carolina Courage, and McCamey with the NWSL's KC Current. On the second team, Ryann Brown is using a graduate season at North Carolina and Kate Toomey graduated, leaving Zoe Markesini and Drew Coomans as the only returning 2024 All-Ivy honorees for the Tigers. Markesini has missed time since leaving the Aug. 31 game against Syracuse due to injury. For the Big Red, midfielder Abigail Bishara is back after earning second-team All-Ivy honors last season with backliner Lily Ellingson, also a second-team honoree, having graduated.

Tigers in the NWSL: Princeton has six players currently on NWSL rosters. Pietra Tordin, who turned pro following her junior season last school year, has already twice been named the NWSL Rookie of the Month, doing so in June and adding the second in August. Through the weekend, Tordin had played in 22 games for the Portland Thorns, starting eight on the season overall, including last weekend's game against Bay FC, and scoring four goals on the season. Tyler Lussi '17 started the North Carolina Courage's last 12 games through last weekend, scoring both of her season's goals in that span. Aria Nagai '24 logged 45 minutes in last weekend's game against the Chicago Red Stars and has played in seven of the last nine games, and Madison Curry '24 started her 15th straight game and 20th on the season last weekend for the Seattle Reign against Gotham FC. Heather MacNab '25 made her pro debut for the North Carolina Courage on Sept. 13 against Angel City FC, and Tyler McCamey '25 was signed to the KC Current on Sept. 5. Along with the NWSL six, Lily Bryant '25 is playing in Portugal for FC Porto, making her pro debut on Sept. 13.

The staff: Head coach Sean Driscoll is in his 11th year with Princeton and 10th competitive season (team did not compete in 2020), and has the most Ivy League Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year honors since the award began in 2014, with four (2015, 2017, 2018, 2024). He's Princeton's second-winningest coach, with 109 wins (Julie Shackford, 203 wins, 1995-2014), and with his 40 wins at Manhattan (2005-09) added in, he's just one win from his 150th career victory as a college head coach. Associate Head Coach Mike Poller has been with Driscoll for the entire Tiger tenure, and assistant coach Chris Duggan is in his fourth season with the program. Under Driscoll, Princeton has won four Ivy League titles (2015, 2017, 2018, 2024) and has made six NCAA tournaments (2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024), making the second round in 2015, 2017, 2021 and 2023 and the quarterfinals in 2017.

Individual notes:

0 • Sydney Romano • So • GK
• Made her career debut in relief at Loyola (Md.) on Aug. 24
• Played in three straight games, in injury relief at Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 4 and splitting halves with Cecilia Cerone against Villanova (Sept. 11) and at Army West Point (Sept. 14)
• Has allowed three goals this season, one at Loyola and two at Army, to hold a 1.41 GAA and a .769 save percentage in 191 minutes

1 • Cecilia Cerone • Jr. • GK
• Following the graduation of Tyler McCamey '25 (now with NWSL's KC Current), has already seen more than three times as much time between the posts (708 min) as she had over her first two seasons (222 min)
• Has played in all 10 games this season, going the full 90 six times, and splitting halves with Sydney Romano in three others while leaving the Miami game on Sept. 4 after 33 minutes due to injury
• Holds a 1.52 GAA this season with a .636 save percentage and is coming off a shutout at Penn
• Psychology major

2 • Anna Chau • Fr. • M/D
• Played in each of the first seven games of her rookie season and made six starts, including in her collegiate debut Aug. 22 against Rutgers
• Has missed time due to injury since the Sept. 14 game at Army West Point
• Averages 67.6 minutes per game this season

4 • Caroline Kane • Sr. • D
• Has played in nine games this season, the second-most games played in a season in her career, behind only the 13 games she played as a rookie in 2022
• A backliner, has one career point, an assist against Bucknell in 2022
• Averages 56.2 minutes per game this season
• Majoring in psychology and interned in the summer of 2025 with Major League Baseball's mental health and safety programs

5 • Drew Coomans • Sr. • F
• Two-time second-team All-Ivy Leaguer (2023, 2024)
• Has started all 10 games this season and 15 straight dating back to last season; has played in 63 games and started 46 in her collegiate career
• Has scored all five of her career goals between her sophomore and junior seasons, with three in 2024
• Averages 83.3 minutes per game this season
• Economics major
• Spent two weeks in summer 2025 training with the NWSL's Portland Thorns

6 • Zoe Markesini • Jr. • D
• Co-captain this season
• Second-team All-Ivy League 2024
• Played in the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia and 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India for Canada, serving as a team captain with the U-17 team, starting all seven games between the two tournaments, and scoring a goal against France in the 2024 group stage opener as Canada made the round of 16
• Left the Aug. 31 game against Syracuse due to injury and has not played since
• Has played 36 games and started 30 during her collegiate career
• Scored her first two collegiate goals over Princeton's first two games this season, earning Ivy Defensive Player of the Week honors on Aug. 25
• Averages 78.8 minutes per game this season
• Majoring in psychology

7 • Grace Rossner • So. • M/F
• Has appeared in seven games over her first two seasons, all as a reserve
• Has played 44 minutes this season, all between the Rutgers (Aug. 22), Ohio State (Aug. 28) and Harvard (Sept. 27) games

8 • Aditi Singh • Jr. • F
• Joined the team this season
• From West Windsor, N.J., just a few miles from campus
• Made her career debut Aug. 28 against Ohio State and played 22 minutes off the bench in her only appearance to date
• Majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering

9 • Rebecca Sherry • Jr. • F
• Made her career debut this season and has played in six games
• Averages 15.2 minutes per game this season
• Student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

10 • Dylan Jovanovic • So. • F
• Has played in all 10 games this season and started nine, surpassing her total of games started from last season as a rookie (seven)
• Has scored her first two career points this season, on assists at Miami (Sept. 4) and Army West Point (Sept. 14)
• Has surpassed her total of minutes played from last season, having played 725 this season and 688 last season
• Has already taken more total shots this season (24) than last season (18) and is more than halfway to her number of shots on goal this season (six) from last season (nine)
• 24 total shots this season stand second on the team
• Averages 72.5 minutes per game this season

11 • Maddie Recupero • Fr. • M
• Has played in seven games this season and has started three, against Ohio State (Aug. 28), Harvard (Sept. 27) and Yale (Oct. 4)
• Averages 48.1 minutes per game this season and had a career-high 78 minutes last time out at Yale

13 • Sarah Houston • Fr. • F/M
• Scored her first career goal Sept. 14 at Army West Point
• First career start came in the Army game and has played in eight games this season
• Averages 33.1 minutes per game this season
• Sister, Erin, is a senior on Auburn's women's soccer team

14 • Nina Cantor • Fr. • F
• Has played in all 10 games this season and has started six
• Averages 57.3 minutes per game this season while playing between 41 and 69 minutes in every game
• Had her first career point on Aug. 28 with an assist against Ohio State and first career goal on Sept. 4 at Miami for her three points this season
• Leads the team in shots on goal, with eight

17 • Sophia Kurisu • So. • M
• Has not yet played this season after playing in 12 games last season, all off the bench while taking two shots, one on goal, and averaging 16.6 minutes per game

18 • Brooke Dawahare • So. • M
• Played in all 19 games last season and had 17 starts
• With 1,240 minutes played last season, was the team's returning leader in minutes played from last season, and with Alexandra Barry and Isabella Garces, co-led the returners with four goals scored last season
• Started each of the first three games this season before leaving the Aug. 28 game against Ohio State due to injury and has not played since
• Played 73 minutes in the opener against Rutgers and all 90 against Loyola the next time out before playing 28 minutes in the early exit against OSU

20 • Aubrey Crisostomo • Fr. • F/M
• Has played in eight games this season and had her first career start Oct. 4 vs. Yale
• Averages 33.8 minutes per game, playing a high of 71 minutes last time out against Yale
• Had her first career point with an assist against Ohio State on Aug. 28

21 • Julia Johnson • Fr. • D
• Has played in nine games this season and has made seven starts, including starts in each of the last six games entering the Cornell game
• Averages 72.2 minutes per game this season and has played the full 90 in six straight games
• Shares a high school alma mater with head coach Sean Driscoll, Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Conn.
• Has a strong familial connection to Princeton, with both parents, Sydney and Jennifer, both in the Class of 1997, and brother Jalen in the Class of 2026
• Father Sydney was a two-time Ivy League champion hoopster at Princeton (1996, 1997) and was part of the 1996 team that upset UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament before winning Ivy Player of the Year honors in 1997; Sydney returned to coach the team from 2007-11, winning the 2011 Ivy title, and began as head coach of the WNBA's Washington Mystics in 2025

22 • Esmé Rudell • Jr. • M/D
• Has surpassed her 2024 total of minutes played (364), having played 507 minutes this season; had 433 career minutes entering the season
• Averages 50.7 minutes per game this season
• Majoring in politics
• Father, Kirk, is in the Princeton soccer Class of 1991 and co-produced soccer documentaries including Soccertown, USA (2019) about Kearny, N.J., and Voice of the Game (2022), about Manfred Schellscheidt, and co-hosts a soccer podcast, An American Game.

23 • Summer Pierson • Sr. • M/D
• Has played in five games this season
• Averages 17.6 minutes per game this season
• Career highs of seven games played, three games started, and 240 minutes played all came last season
• First and so far only career points came on a goal against Drexel on Sept. 12, 2024
• Majoring in art and archaeology

24 • Pia Beaulieu • Sr. • M
• Has played in six games this season and has started four after missing early-season games due to injury
• Played a career-high 544 minutes over a career-high 18 games last season, also setting career highs in goals (two) and assists (three) last season
• Averages 66 minutes per game this season and went the full 90 for the first time this season against Yale (Oct. 4)
• Student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

25 • Kelsee Wozniak • Sr. • D
• Has started all 10 games this season
• Career-high three goals and three assists came as a rookie in 2022
• Career-high 1,004 minutes played came last season and is closing in on that this season, having played 847
• Career-high 10 starts this season after nine as a rookie and a junior
• Averages 84.7 minutes per game this season and has played no fewer than 61, going the full 90 seven times
• Politics major

27 • Alexandra Barry • So. • F
• Was the team's leading returning scorer from 2024, totaling 13 points on four goals and five assists
• Played in all 19 games last season and made seven starts
• Scored a goal against Ohio State on Aug. 28 and had an assist Sept. 4 at Miami for her three points so far this season
• Has six starts this season, just one behind her seven starts as a rookie, and is closing in on her 2024 minutes total of 680, having played 514
• Has taken 16 total shots this season and seven on goal after 27 total shots last season and 11 on goal
• Averages 51.4 minutes per game this season

28 • Kayla Wong • Jr. • M
• Has started all 10 games this season after playing in 18 of 19 and starting 17 last season
• Career-high three goals came last season and career-high five assists, on the way to a career-high nine points, came as a rookie in 2023
• Career-high 28 total shots and 12 shots on goal came last season; has 13 total shots and seven shots on goal this season
• Averages 77.2 minutes per game this season
• Economics major

30 • Isabella Garces • Jr. • F
• Made her season debut Sept. 14 at Army West Point after missing early-season games due to injury; scored the goal in the team's 1-0 win at Penn on Sept. 19
• Has played in four games this season
• Played in a career-high 15 games last season and started two games; has equaled the start total with two this season
• Career-high 421 minutes, 23 total shots and seven shots on goal came last season
• Co-led this year's returners with four goals last season
• Student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

36 • Ally Murphy • Sr. • F
• Co-captain this season
• Has played in nine games this season and has started six
• Scored on a penalty kick against Villanova on Sept. 11 for her second career goal; first came on Oct. 5, 2024 against Brown
• With 424 minutes played this season, has surpassed her career high of 363 set in 2022
• Averages 47.1 minutes per game this season
• Student in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs

51 • Carson Proctor • Fr. • GK
• Has not yet played

Looking ahead: Princeton will be head out on the road for an Oct. 18 visit to Dartmouth before returning home for the regular season's final non-league game, Oct. 21 vs. Lehigh at Roberts Stadium.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results