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Vol. LXIII, No. 35
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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Vol. LXIII, No. 35
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Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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(Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction)
MARKING PERIOD: Kayleigh Iatarola, right, marks a player in a game last season for the Princeton University women’s soccer team. Junior tri-captain Iatarola will be depended on to shore up the Princeton midfield as the Tigers look to defend their Ivy League title and make another trip to the NCAA tournament. |
Coming into last fall, Julie Shackford professed to be “clueless” about the prospects for her Princeton University women’s soccer team.
With PU head coach Shackford harping on her players to show more competitive fire, the Tigers didn’t waste any time in 2008 letting their foes know that they had a clue about what it took to win close games.
With a bounce here or a break there, the Princeton University field hockey team could’ve landed a spot in last year’s NCAA semifinals.
Instead, the Tigers ended the season by falling 3-2 in overtime at No. 3 Syracuse in the national quarters, nearly finding the back of the cage in the first moments of the extra session before succumbing to the Orange.
Although Princeton has lost nine seniors from a squad that posted a sparkling 17-3 record and ended up ranked No. 5 in the country, the Tiger players believe a Final Four and more are within their grasp as they look forward to the 2009 season.
Although it was too little, too late, the Princeton University men’s soccer team got hot down the homestretch last fall.
After getting off to a 2-8-1 start, the Tigers went 3-1-2 in their last six games to end the season with a 5-9-3 overall record and 2-2-3 in the Ivy League, good for a tie for fifth in the league standings.
The combination of the strong finish and the disappointment over what might have been spurred Princeton into some good work this past spring in its off-season practices and scrimmages.
There was a buzz in the air on the first Friday of last September when the Princeton University men’s soccer team took the field for its first-ever game at Roberts Stadium.
A raucous opening night crowd was on hand and the Princeton players flew all over the well-groomed pitch as they battled Lehigh in the state-of-the-art facility.
Perhaps nobody on hand that evening felt the electricity more than Antoine Hoppenot.
Jody Pederson and his teammates on the Princeton University men’s hockey team won’t waste any time hitting the ice when they arrive at school in 10 days or so.
“We skate as soon as we get back,” said Pederson, a senior defenseman from Smithers, British Columbia.
“Most of the guys will be on the ice everyday. Captain’s practices start the first day of school. The coaches can come on the ice with us in October.”