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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Tiger Women's Soccer Stymied by UCLA As Magical Run Ends in NCAA Semifinals
By Bill Alden
Carved out of a forest of craggy pine trees, its perfectly manicured soccer field gleams like a green jewel when splashed in sunlight.
It is the SAS Soccer Center in Cary, N.C. and last Friday it was the promised land for the Princeton University women's soccer team which was there to play in the NCAA Final Four.
Upon arriving for their semifinal clash with UCLA, the Princeton players walked around the stadium wide-eyed, surveying the surroundings that greeted them as the first Ivy League women's team to make it to the summit of college women's soccer.
Princeton head coach Julie Shackford joked that the field in North Carolina was a world apart from the Tigers' charming but currently muddy home base at Lourie-Love Field.
Hours later, though, the width of the smooth surface at the soccer center worked to Princeton's disadvantage as the swift Bruins dashed past the Tigers in taking a 2-0 win before an overflow crowd at the 7,000-seat venue.
In the wake of the defeat, a red-eyed Shackford praised the play of UCLA, which is coached by her longtime best friend Jillian Ellis.
"I think UCLA was definitely the better team today," said a subdued Shackford with a rueful grin.
"They took care of a couple of our special players. They did a great job; I think they were just a little more athletic in certain places. I thought they double-teamed when it was appropriate. They did a nice job of winning first balls." The fact that it was UCLA's third Final Four appearance in the last four seasons also ended up hurting Princeton. "We looked a little tight," admitted Shackford, whose team ended its magical season with a 19-3 record.
"I think it is a little bit about not having been in this environment before. I don't think that we did a good job of getting behind them. That has been our bread and butter all year long so that was a little disappointing."
It became clear early on that Princeton was going to have trouble solving a Bruin defense that entered the afternoon as the only team to have not given up a goal in this year's NCAA tournament.
The speedy, tough UCLA backline stymied Princeton's high powered attack with gifted strikers Esmeralda Negron and Emily Behncke having trouble getting touches let alone shots.
In the first half, UCLA outshot Princeton 5-0, nearly scoring on two runs into the box. Still, the Tigers almost took the lead as a Behncke flick on a feed from Janine Willis sailed just wide of the net with 1:30 remaining in the half.
Just 2:44 into the second half, the Bruins' pressure paid off as Danesha Adams rifled a shot past Princeton goalie Madeleine Jackson. A goal by Bristyn Davis 17 minutes later sealed Princeton's sad fate.
Princeton's star freshman midfielder Diana Matheson acknowledged that the Bruins had put the Tigers under intense pressure.
"Their defenders overall were very athletic," said Matheson, a first-team All-Ivy performer who was named as the league's Rookie of the Year. "I think that they did a good job of marking up against Es and Behncke. It was tough to get through."
UCLA coach Ellis, who first met Shackford in 1982 and went on to star with her at William and Mary, came away impressed with the challenge presented by Princeton.
"Our hats were off to Princeton, they were a tremendous team with great attacking players," said Ellis, whose team went on to fall to Notre Dame last Sunday in the national title game as it came up on the short end of a penalty kick shootout. "They were one of the best teams we faced this year, we knew we had our work cut out for us."
Shackford, for her part, was proud of the work put in by her team this fall. "Obviously we had a phenomenal season," said Shackford.
"I think that our accomplishments this year can't be underestimated, particularly at a place like Princeton where academics come first and where there are no scholarships. This team fights the odds."
Senior tri-captain Brea Griffiths made it clear that she and her classmates had enjoyed bucking the odds in their improbable career-ending run.
"We've come leaps and bounds from when I was a freshman," said a red-faced Griffiths, an Academic All-Ivy selection this fall.
"Back in the day, the Ivy League was the big thing. Just getting to the tournament and maybe winning a couple of games was the real goal. This year, it was just expected for us to keep going as far as we could."
In Shackford's view, it was the team's senior class that propelled Princeton to the heights it ultimately reached.
"I just talked to the team and I said the senior class is the reason we are here," said Shackford, whose roster contained 10 seniors including such stars as two-time Ivy Player of the Year Negron, second-team All Ivy defender Elizabeth Pillion, Kristina Fontanez, and the Willis twins, Janine and Rochelle.
"They've grown so much in four years. Having not achieved as much as they wanted in their first three years, I really laud them for getting us here. Their inspiration, their work created the atmosphere for us to be successful this year. They never accepted anything less than 100 percent."
For Pillion, the satisfaction of having given that effort far outweighed the disappointment of Friday's result.
"Despite the fact that we just lost, I feel that the season was amazing," asserted Pillion, an All-American in lacrosse who has gone to three Final Fours in the spring with that program.
"No matter what, I think we are always going to remember how much fun we had. Throughout the season, it all just seemed to click, the way we started to play together and the chemistry that we had."
And while Princeton's trip to its promised land ended in disappointment, there
can be no doubt that the 2004 Tiger squad was indeed a rare gem.
