END OF THE ROAD: Princeton University women’s soccer player Katie Pratt-Thompson boots the ball in NCAA tournament action. Last Saturday, senior star defender and co-captain Pratt-Thompson saw her college career come to an end as 13th-ranked Princeton fell 3-1 at fourth-ranked UCLA in the NCAA quarterfinals. The defeat left the Tigers with a final record of 16-3-1. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Throughout the fall, the players on the Princeton University women’s soccer team proved to be the ultimate road warriors, posting a 7-0 record in regular season away games and then winning two NCAA tournament games in Cary, N.C. on the way to the national quarterfinals.

But the Tigers never faced a trip like they did last Saturday, playing UCLA at Drake Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. for an NCAA Elite Eight clash.

“We went on the road and played two games in North Carolina, which wasn’t easy, and then got on a flight back home and had a quick turnaround to fly out there,” said Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll.

“Just the travel alone was a lot. I give the team a tremendous amount of credit for enduring. It is very exciting and a lot of fun to go and experience that, without question, but it was a lot to ask of this group.”

On Saturday, the 13th-ranked Tigers came to the end of the road as fourth-ranked UCLA jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead and then held on for a 3-1 victory to punch their ticket to the College Cup national semis.

Driscoll acknowledged that a fired up and talented UCLA squad put Princeton on its heels with a first half barrage that saw the Bruins outshoot the Tigers 13-1.

“They responded well to the energy and the enthusiasm, they played like a top team,” said Driscoll, whose squad ended the fall at 16-3-1.

“We were a little bit shellshocked. We knew they would be good but there was no way to prepare for that kind of overall energy combined with their athleticism, speed, and skill set. We hadn’t seen a team like that.”

At intermission, Driscoll urged his team to display his customary energy.

“The discussion at halftime was mostly about how we are going to finish the game,” said Driscoll.

“We started off on our back foot, credit to them for that. As a group, this is not us, this is not how we have played all season. We need to end on a positive note, whatever that is, give everything we have, and leave with no regrets.”

Making a positive response, Princeton narrowed the gap to 2-1 with a goal by Abby Givens at the 54:33 mark on a counter attack, reviving hopes of an upset.

“In the second half, we took some chances and we created some things on our end,” said Driscoll.

“We were able to counter on a couple of occasions. We made it 2-1 and we were all fired up. We had a lot of momentum, we had another good chance. I thought there was a possibility.”

But UCLA snuffed out that possibility six minutes later, going up 3-1 on a goal by Hailie Mace.

“I thought, to a national audience, that second half was a testament of the grind and the grit of this team,” said Driscoll.

“UCLA was a better team, there is no two ways about it. From front to back, they were better. They are just an exceptionally talented team, they belong in the Final 4. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think we are tremendous. We showed incredible character.”

The loss to the Bruins doesn’t dim the incredible run produced by the Tigers this fall as they had the program’s second best showing in the NCAA tournament, falling one win of matching the 2004 squad that advanced to the national semis.

“You go into the season and you are always cautiously optimistic about what your team can do but not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that we are going to be 90 minutes from the Final 4,” said Driscoll.

“That is not because I don’t believe in my kids, I just think it is always such a grandiose dream. I haven’t really had a chance to sit down, decompress, and think about what has been accomplished but when I do have that time, I am going to have a huge smile on my face.”

There were certainly a lot of good times in a campaign that saw the Tigers outscore their foes 43-11 and vault into the national Top 20 by early September.

“You think about the win at North Carolina (2-1 in overtime on the NCAA Round of 16), which will stay with me forever, and the experience of being out at UCLA in the place where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played and Troy Aikman played,” said Driscoll.

“The kids will remember this for the rest of their lives and I will as well. It would have been great to get to the Final 4 but I will argue that this achievement is about as good as it gets, given all the flying and traveling that we did. While they are a little disappointed in how it ended, it is really hard to put in words how much they did.”

The squad’s group of seniors, which included Beth Stella, Vanessa Gregoire, Natalie Larkin, Katie Pratt-Thompson, Mikaela Symanovich, Alessia Azermadhi, and Gurun Valdis-Jonsdottir, achieved a lot.

“They did a wonderful job leading this year; it was never about them, it was about the team as a whole,” said Driscoll.

“When they set foot on the field, they gave everything they had, there was no doubt about that. We are skillful but we are going to grind and, every game, we are going to be relentless.”

Driscoll hopes that his returning players will maintain that relentless approach.

“We have a lot of very good young players, but being a good player is just a small piece of the puzzle,” said Driscoll.

“You have to be a supremely competitive individual, you have to be self- motivated, and you have to be driven. One reason we had our success is the depth of our team, but most importantly is the willingness to do whatever it takes to win. That is the hardest component to find as a coach.”

In Driscoll’s view, the program’s success in 2017 was truly a group effort, involving a number of components.

“The reality is that none of this would have been possible without our entire staff,” said Driscoll, citing the tireless efforts of assistant coaches Mike Poller, Jami Kranich, and Alison Nabatoff along with strength and conditioning coach Angie Brambley-Moyer and trainer Jasper Chang.

“As a group, they were fantastic and helped this team have the experience that they did. They were instrumental in that. Also, the greater Princeton community as well as the athletic department helped; their support of our team was very clear. Even out in California, we had a ton of alums. It was nice to be able to represent everybody.”

And everybody associated with the Tigers has plenty of reasons to be proud about what was accomplished on their road to Los Angeles.