END RUN: Princeton University women’s soccer player -Vanessa Gregoire dribbles past a defender in Princeton’s 4-2 win over Boston College in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Last Friday, sophomore midfielder Gregoire and the Tigers saw their superb season come to an end as they fell 3-0 to No. 11 University of Southern California in the Round of 32 at the NCAA tourney. Princeton, who was 12-0-1 in its last 13 contests heading into Friday, ended the season with a final record of 14-4-1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Coming off a thrilling 4-2 victory over Boston College in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Princeton University women’s soccer team was fired up to keep rolling as it faced No. 11 University of Southern California last Friday in the Round of 32.

“Any time you get to do anything like that, it is wonderful, they were very excited,” said Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll, whose team was 12-0-1 in its last 13 contests heading into the clash with USC at Charlottesville, Va.

“They have been excited all season, they have always had something they wanted to achieve, whether it was to keep the streak alive, which kept us very excited, or go undefeated into Ivy League and that kept us really excited. I think the mood in general is one of the reasons that the team does so well. The mood is always very positive and very upbeat.”

The Tigers got off to a positive start as they battled the talented Trojans.

“The reality is that we were the better team for the first 10 minutes,” said Driscoll. “We had two clear cut chances that we didn’t convert and we had a potential penalty kick that wasn’t called.”

But it was USC who converted its chances, tallying 11:14 into the contest off a scramble in front of the Tiger goal and then doubling its lead 11 minutes later with a shot inside the left post.

“It was deflating to say the least because we had a very good start to the game,” said Driscoll, reflecting on the first goal.

“The second goal they scored was very nice, the momentum turned quite a bit there.”

Princeton’s attempt to regain the momentum going into the half was snuffed when the Trojans tallied with 1:57 left in the first half on a shot that deflected off the back of a Tiger defender.

“There was no way it was going in unless it hit somebody so Hannah (Winner) dove one way and the ball went in the other,” lamented Driscoll.

“I think that was definitely a backbreaker. Being down 2-0 with less than two minutes to go, we had scored a lot of goals this year late in the first half and early in the second half. The reality is that was a killer, the kids hung their heads for the first time all season after that goal.”

While the contest ended as a 3-0 win for USC with neither team scoring in the second half, Driscoll asserted that the game was much closer than the final line.

“I am not taking anything away from USC, they were the better team, player for player and overall talent,” said Driscoll.

“However, at the end of the day all you can do is to put yourself in position to be successful and I felt we did. We had to have some things go our way and they didn’t. I give our kids a lot of credit, they worked exceptionally hard as they have all year, they did exactly what we asked them to do. You need to have a little bit of luck and the ball definitely did not roll in our favor that day. The score is an aberration, first and foremost. I don’t think it was a 3-0 game. If you look at the stats, it was 12-11 on shots and 6-4 on corner kicks which gives you the idea that the ball was at both sides of the field.”

Reflecting on his first year at the helm of the Tiger program, Driscoll has enjoyed an exceptional experience.

“They have performed at an incredibly high level, they have inspired me throughout the season with their dedication to being great, that is really what it comes down to,” said Driscoll, who left his native Connecticut and a position as the associate head coach at Fairfield University to take over the Tigers.

“I have never had a team like them. I told them before the game that for the rest of my life I will be comparing teams, every team I coach, to this one because of the successes that we had. For us to win 14 games, basically the same number of games they had won the last two years was huge. We had the second most wins in the history of the program, which happened two other times.”

Princeton progressed far faster this fall than even Driscoll could have imagined.

“When they asked me at my interview what my goal was, I said I would like to be a perennial top 25 team and I would like to get back into the NCAA tournament and to win a game there,” said Driscoll.

“That was the two-three-four year plan. It was great that we did that in such a short amount of time. We didn’t lose for two months and a week.”

The team’s triumph over Boston College in the NCAA opener served as the exclamation point on the memorable campaign.

“By far the best moment I have ever had as a coach by far, there is not even a close second, was the win over Boston College,” asserted Driscoll.

“It is a perennial powerhouse, a 2010 Final 4 team with the leading scorer in the ACC and two top-50 players in the country on the team on the front line. To be up on them 4-1, that performance, that crowd, that atmosphere, that was by far the highlight. It will take a lot to pass that because of the quality of the competition, because of the significance of the game, the magnitude of the moment, and the quality of the performance. You put all of those things together, beating Harvard (2-1 on October 24) was great, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t anything close to beating Boston College. We played so well against BC, we deserved it; it wasn’t a fluke score line.”

Driscoll isn’t wasting any time laying the groundwork for more great moments.

“I am chomping at the bit,” said Driscoll, noting that he was back on the recruiting trail on Sunday, less than 48 hours after the loss to USC.

“I am just thinking, watching Penn State playing Ohio State in the tournament, that we were just playing at UVa. To be there, to be involved in that whole environment is one part you can’t truly appreciate. The other part is that you had to work so hard and do many things right to get there, now you are just thirsting for more.”