IN FORM: Princeton University women’s soccer player Natalie Larkin sends the ball upfield in recent action. Last Friday, junior defender/midfielder Larkin chipped in an assist as Princeton defeated Temple 3-0. Two days later, Larkin and her teammates rallied for a 2-1 overtime win at Monmouth as they improved to 6-0, the program’s best start since 2002, when the Tigers were 12-0. Princeton will look to keep on the winning track as it plays at No. 4 West Virginia (6-0-1) on September 16 and at Duquesne (2-2-2) on September 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Natalie Larkin and her teammates on the Princeton University women’s soccer team had a valuable lesson reinforced when they played at Delaware earlier this month.

Trailing 1-0 in the September 2 contest, the Tigers got a goal from Vanessa Gregoire with five seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then won the game 2-1 on a tally by Tyler Lussi in the extra session.

“That was a big eye-opener to us that it is never too late to make an impact on the game whether there are five seconds left, 10 seconds left,” said Larkin.

“A lot of times teams unknowingly let up a little bit in the last minute which usually isn’t a big deal. It is a good time to keep pushing.”

Last Friday against visiting Temple, the Tigers applied that principle, scoring three unanswered goals in the first half, including one with 3.4 seconds before intermission, on the way to a 3-0 victory.

Larkin helped get the offense going as she chipped the ball over the defense to Tyler Lussi, who banged the ball into the net to put Princeton ahead 1-0 just over 29 minutes into the game.

“Basically I saw Tyler in the space; it is always a good option,” said Larkin of senior star Lussi, who increased her career program record total to 50 goals with two tallies on the evening and established a new Princeton record for career points as she now has 113.

“You know Tyler is going to give 150 percent on every single ball. It is about recognizing when we can isolate her in one versus one situations to put her in the best opportunity to score goals.”

That tally broke the ice as Lussi got another goal 20 minutes later and freshman Tomi Kennedy found the back of the net just before the end of the half.

“It is one of those situations where you have to grind out the first one but after you hit that, the floodgates open a little bit,” said Larkin. “We felt a lot more comfortable on the ball after the first one.”

Princeton felt comfortable with the  3-0 lead at halftime. “The difference between 2-0 and 3-0 is so vast,” said Larkin.

“At 2-0, whoever scored the next goal is pretty much in it. At 3-0, it is not over but it gives you a little cushion. It puts them in a situation where you know that they are going to have to come at you. It takes a lot of focus in the first five minutes so that you are prepared for what they are going to throw at you.”

The defense put the clamps on the Owls in the second half, holding them without a shot over the final 45 minutes of the contest to finish off the shutout.

“A lot of that starts up the field with our front six doing a really good job of pressing them in so when they do get up, they don’t have a lot of options,” explained Larkin.

“We did our jobs but we had a ton of help from the front six making things way more predictable for us so we knew exactly where the ball was going to go.”

Larkin relishes her job on the field for Princeton, which includes shoring up the back line and going forward when she sees the opportunity.

“I just like to get into space when I can, I like to run,” said Larkin, a Washington, D.C. native who has been named a second-team All-Ivy League performer the last two seasons.

“I play midfield and defense in pretty much every game, which I like to think gives me a little perspective on both. I try to see when it is safe to go; it is more of an offensive position than most people realize.”

With two seasons under her belt, Larkin has gained a good perspective on how to set up her teammates.

“I have been playing with a lot of these people for two and half years now, which is such a blessing,” said Larkin.

“I know what balls to play Tyler, what balls to play Mimi (Asom). That just comes with time and getting the chance to play with them so long has really helped me out with that.”

On Sunday at Monmouth, the Tigers continued playing hard every second, overcoming an 1-0 deficit, with freshman Abby Givens answering with a first half goal and sophomore star Asom finding the back of net in double overtime as Princeton prevailed 2-1.

With the defending Ivy champion Tigers now at 6-0, the program’s best start since 2002 when the Princeton got out of the gate at 12-0, Larkin believes the squad holds its destiny in its hands.

“If we put our best selves forward, we don’t think anything is going to stop us this season; that comes down to every practice, every game, and stepping on the field and giving 100 percent every time,” said Larkin.

“The sky is the limit. Our practices are super intense. What we learned is that we have a will to win and that goes a long way. That Delaware game shows an unwillingness to give up and play 90 minutes and that has been huge for us.”