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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Utilizing Toughness, Leadership Skills, Griffiths Helped Spark Tigers to Final 4
By Bill Alden
When Brea Griffiths came to Princeton from Canada in the fall of 2001, she saw herself as someone destined to play a supporting role for the Tiger women's soccer team.
Griffiths' initial analysis, however, proved to be far from the mark as the powerful defender from Burlington, Ontario broke into the starting lineup as a freshman.
For the last two seasons, Griffiths has been front and center for the Tigers as a two-time team captain.
This fall, Griffiths' leadership played a major role as the Tigers stunned the soccer world by becoming the first Ivy League women's team to make it to the NCAA Final Four.
As she reflected on her career last week after the team's final practice at Lourie-Love Field, Griffiths marveled at how far she has come during her Princeton career.
"I had no expectations," said Griffiths, who first became interested in Princeton at the urging of former Tiger stars and fellow Canadians, Krista and Lynn Aris.
"I just wanted to mix in and not get noticed. When I came here, I thought alright you're just going to have to suck it up and sit on the bench for four years, have a great time, and meet all the girls."
Meeting four-time All-Ivy defender Heather Deerin helped Griffiths emerge as a force on Princeton's back line.
"Heather was the best player I've ever played with," recalled Griffiths, who started 71 of 73 games in her Princeton career which ended last Friday when the Tigers fell 2-0 to UCLA in the national semis. "She taught me everything. Honestly, if I hadn't had her there the first two years teaching me what to do, I would've been lost."
Upon Deerin's graduation, Griffiths struggled a bit as she took the reins of Princeton's back four. "I found I was still lost my junior year when Heather wasn't there," said Griffiths, a biology major who was an Academic All-Ivy selection this fall.
"Now I had to step up and lead this. I was always told where to go and I was like oh-oh, now I have to tell people where to go."
As Griffiths struggled to assume a leadership role, she was lucky to have her classmates to help pull her through.
"Starting as freshmen, we said to ourselves that we are going to make it through these four years together," added Griffiths, who was one of 10 seniors on the Tigers' roster this season.
"The classes before us had dwindled from like 12 down to six. I think we have been a good influence on the other classes. Our class integrates the other classes while classes before us tended to segregate. We actually became friends with people in the other classes. I think that has really helped to bring us together."
Princeton head coach Julie Shackford believes that Griffiths has had a good influence on the program, on and off the field.
"Brea is a tough, hard-nosed kid who doesn't like to lose any ball," said Shackford of her defender who was named as an honorable mention selection to the All-Ivy women's soccer team this season.
"She brings a physical presence, ability in the air, and a psychological dimension. Her feet have gotten better, she's much more confident stepping in on the ball. As a captain, she has been good at seeing the big picture and relating to all 28 players."
It didn't take long for Griffiths and her teammates to realize that they could make a larger impact in the big picture of college soccer.
"We realized four or five games into the season that we could really be a Final Four team," declared Griffiths, who had three career goals, all on headers off of corner kicks.
"A few of us were talking about it and we said we have the ability to go there. Before, our goal was to make it to the Sweet 16. We play so well together, we know where everyone is going to be."
With that special confidence, it is no wonder that Princeton went on its improbable tourney run.
"I feel like we played so well in the tournament, it was like we were possessed," said Griffiths.
"For the seniors, we wanted to put it all out on the field. We wanted to live in the moment and take everything to its fullest. These are the moments we are going to remember the rest of our lives. It's been a dream come true."
And in the process, Griffiths has created the kind of memories she could never have dreamed of when she first arrived at Princeton.
