Princeton Women’s Soccer Advances in NCAA Tournament

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The scene had all the makings of a nail-biter for the Princeton women’s soccer team. The Tigers entered the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday with an undefeated record in Ivy League play and a high-powered offense that held four top-10 Division I statistical rankings: third in assists per game, sixth in points per game, eighth in goals per game, and 10th in shots per game. Princeton’s opponent, Boston College, has been a perennial competitor in the NCAA Tournament. This year marked the Eagles’ 14th appearance in the last 17 seasons. Prior to missing the tournament last year for the first time in 11 years, Boston College had not lost in the first round since falling on penalty kicks to Connecticut in 2007. But the game was not so close, as Princeton advanced to the Round of 32 over the Eagles in a 4-2 victory on Saturday evening at Roberts Stadium. Freshman forward Mimi Asom, who was unanimously voted Ivy League Rookie of the Year last week, continued her dominant season by scoring goals in the 23rd and 35th minutes of the first half. The goals also tied Asom with Linda DeBoer ’86 for the Princeton freshman record of 12 goals in a season. Asom would get assistance from veteran teammates, as junior forward Tyler Lussi added a strike at the 41st minute to put the Tigers ahead 3-1 at the half. Lussi would add another goal at the beginning of the second half, bringing her career total to 43, just four shy of Esmeralda Negron ’05’s program record. Senior defender Emily Sura had a career night as well, as her three assists gave the co-captain the first multi-assist game of her career. The score remained 4-1 for almost the entire second half until Boston College scored again in the 89th minute. Too little too late for the Eagles, though, as Princeton advanced to the next round of NCAA Tournament play on a cold November night in front of a crowd of nearly a thousand. The Tigers will now face the University of Southern California in the Round of 32, with the match set for Friday on Virginia’s home field. The winner of that match will face the winner of Virginia and UNC-Wilmington. Princeton and USC have never met in women’s soccer. Quick Takes Football fell in a tight contest against Ivy nemesis Yale on Saturday afternoon. Despite senior wideout Isaiah Barnes’ career day, which included six receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns, the Tigers were not able to maintain their 28-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. Princeton fell 35-28 in front of a crowd of 11,623. Women’s volleyball completed a third consecutive weekend sweep — this time defeating Cornell and Columbia on Friday and Saturday nights — to earn a share of the Ivy championship. The Tigers will play Harvard in Cambridge next weekend in a match for the league’s NCAA Tournament bid. Field hockey knocked off No. 5 Maryland with a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Sophia Tornetta ’19 scored twice in the win. The Tigers fell in the second round to No. 2 Syracuse, 5-0. Women’s cross country placed third at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional held in Princeton on Friday. Senior Emily de La Bruyere and junior Lizzie Bird placed second and third in the race respectively, as the Tigers placed six runners in the top 50. The Tigers were awarded one of the 13 at-large team bids to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 21.