The women's soccer team (4-4-4, 1-1-1 Ivy) tied the Princeton Tigers (7-1-2, 2-0-1) in an away game this past Saturday. Both teams were held scoreless throughout the 110 minutes of play in a defense-driven contest. This marks the fourth shutout of the season for tri-captain goalkeeper Brenna Hogue '10, and the eighth of her career.
Regulation play consisted of two contrasting halves. The first half witnessed a dominant performance by the Bears, while the Tigers held possession of the ball throughout most of the second half. The two periods saw a 6-1 shot advantage for the Bears followed by a 1-8 deficit, respectively.
"We did much better than they did in the first half," said tri-captain Lindsay Cunningham '09. "Things kind of flipped in the second half."
Brown took the field for the first overtime ready to attack the Princeton defenders. After just 53 seconds, tri-captain Jamie Mize '09 blasted a shot at the Princeton goal that was stopped by the Tigers' goalkeeper, and in the next three minutes, Sarah Hebert-Seropian '12 had two more shots blocked.
A second overtime saw two quick shots saved by Hogue in the early minutes. A third attempt missed the goal entirely and Brown retained possession of the ball from that point on. Both Allison Kagawa '12 and Marybeth Lesbirel '12 had scoring opportunities before an unsuccessful Brown corner kick in the final seconds brought the game to a close.
"I think we played a pretty solid game," said Hogue. "Of course we always want a win, but a tie is still good within the Ivies."
Hogue managed to keep Princeton from scoring with seven total saves, three of which occurred during the second half.
Cunningham reiterated that while the team was "not completely satisfied with a tie," it was "not a horrible result."
While the Bears weren't thrilled with the tie, they are not the only team that has struggled to break through the Tigers' defense. Princeton's defense has only given up three goals all season, and prior to Saturday's game the Tigers had maintained a five-game winning streak and a 7-1-1 record. Additionally, the tie keeps Brown in the race for the Ivy League Championship with an Ivy record of 1-1-1.
Brown will return to Stevenson Field this Wednesday for the first of a three-game homestand. The Bears take on Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. in their final non-league game of the season.
