Disaster behind PU women’s soccer

Tigers start season as fitter group

By: Justin Feil
   The Princeton University women’s soccer team fully expects to bounce back from what they label a disaster.
   It took a four-game winning streak at the end of last year just to finish with an 8-7-1 record, its 10th straight winning season. The four-game streak in which they shut out American, Harvard, Cornell and Penn followed a four-game losing streak during which they did not score in almost 340 minutes of play.
   ”The last four games were good,” said PU head coach Julie Shackford. “We just weren’t that good. Diana (Matheson) was in and out. We had injuries. Our very first day of preseason, one-third of the team failed the fitness test. In my 17th year of total coaching, it was only the second season where the chemistry wasn’t great. Everything was off. It was just one of those years.”
   It made for a difficult starting point for the Tigers, but Shackford has been impressed with how the team has prepared for its 2007 opener which comes 4 p.m. Friday against Connecticut at the Boston University Tournament. The Tigers face Boston 3 p.m. Sunday.
   ”There’s a proverb that you need the rocks in the road,” Shackford said. “It was one of those times where you looked at everything you did. I feel energized going into the season based on the work we did in the offseason and with the group coming in.”
   In preparing during the spring, Princeton put an emphasis on the things that were missing last season to help them succeed this year. It got them off to a good start for 2007.
   ”We did come on at the end and had a really good spring,” Shackford said. “We spent a lot of time on competitiveness, leadership, getting them to take more ownership of the team. We had a really good spring. You can’t put too much stock in the preseason, but they’re working and getting after it.”
   The Tigers picked up from the spring when they returned for the start of preseason practices Thursday. Shackford was encouraged when just one player did not pass the fitness test due to an injury. Shackford points to the conditioning for one reason the Tigers started so slowly last year.
   ”A lot had to do with our fitness,” she said. “It takes six to eight weeks to get fit. That’s one of the reasons we came on late. We tried to pull out every stop. We tightened up defensively. I definitely think we’re a little fitter. Vicki (Anagnostopoulous) came on and some of freshmen class came on.”
   Princeton got its first look against outside competition on Sunday when they won a pair of shortened scrimmages.
   ”We scrimmaged The College of New Jersey and beat them, 3-0,” Shackford said. “We played the New York Athletic Club, made up of ex-college players and beat them, 2-0.
   ”We just started on Thursday. I thought we were a little disorganized in the beginning. We moved the ball well, defended well. We didn’t give anything up. It’s good because our first five opponents are ridiculous.”
   The Tigers want to get off to a fast start and finish as well as they did last year. They graduated just three seniors from last year, two that were starters. To the nine starters from last year, Princeton has added a strong incoming freshman class.
   ”This is probably our best class in maybe four years,” Shackford said. “It’s a good starting point. I think we’re in a better starting position. Our depth and quality is better.”
   Princeton’s returners begin with Matheson, a senior who has started since freshman year. Her return comes with an asterisk, however, as she will miss the first month to play with the Canadian national team at the World Cup that runs through the entire month of September.
   ”Diana felt good about the draw,” Shackford said. “We hope she does well but not all the way to the final. We hope to have her back for the first Ivy game Sept. 29. But that kid is unbelievable how she balances everything. She has over a 3.0 in economics and she put in 75,000 air miles last year.
   ”We’ll probably play with three in the center midfield and Jen Om will pick up a lot of her playmaking. She was honorable mention All-Ivy. As a junior, she will have a lot more confidence about her playmaking.”
   In the defensive back, the Tigers feel confident with some combination that could include Melissa Seitz, Taylor Numann, Lisa Chinn, Melissa Whitley and Regina Yang. They’ll play in front of Maren Dale, who returns to goal.
   ”Our backs are in good shape,” Shackford said. “We have everyone back, plus Lisa Chinn is back after she had mono last year. Maren is in goal and she had a great spring. I expect her to have a good year. She played with Sky Blue in the W-League all summer. She’s as fit as she’s been. So is the whole team. We defensively have a lot more quality depth. We’re definitely more athletic.”
   The midfield will be missing Matheson for as much as a month, but they have talent to plug in along with Om.
   ”Alexandra Valerio can sit behind the forwards,” Shackford said of the freshman. “When Diana comes back, she’ll be plugged in right away and see what the best combination is with her.
   ”This kid Valerio will be the real deal. She’s from Canada and has played at a high level. She can play up front behind the forwards or behind the midfielders. She can get by people and finish. (Former men’s team standout) Teddy Van Beuren’s sister, Libby, is a freshman and can play midfield.”
   Scoring the goals could come down to a combination of talent up top, a mix of veterans and newcomers.
   ”Ashley Beyers is wide left along with Lauren Whatley,” Shackford said. “On the other side we have Sarah Peteraf and Bernie Da Costa. Those four could be interchangeable. Whatley and Da Costa are both freshmen. Up top, we have Marci Pasenello. Vicki Anagnostopoulos, she’s our most natural forward. Her instincts are go to goal. And Valerio can play up.”
   Princeton will face some stern tests of its strength in the first month. Not having Matheson makes every opponent a little tougher, but the first three weeks would have been difficult enough even with her.
   ”If we can get through our first five emotionally, it’ll give us more confidence,” said Shackford, whose team makes its home debut Sept. 7 in Princeton Stadium against Villanova, then plays Notre Dame and Washington State in the Notre Dame Tournament Sept. 14 and 16. “They’re all going to be great tests and challenges for us.”
   Those games should help prepare the Tigers for their Ivy League schedule. Last year, Princeton lost its first four games before winning its final three conference contests.
   ”The league was weird last year,” Shackford said. “I haven’t paid attention that much this year. I think we lost the least out of anybody in terms of graduation. I think we’d have a good shot to win it this year. We’re way farther ahead compared to last year. Yale will be strong; Dartmouth will be strong. I think we have enough talent to win it.”
   It’s early, but that sort of optimism is running high with the Tigers. There is a different feeling this season, one that has Princeton looking to return to the top of the Ivies.
   ”I’m basing it on the spring,” Shackford said. “The whole attitude is different. Just having the group be more invested and understanding that they need to buy into our expectations but also be responsible makes me more confident. Last year’s team was such a coach-driven team, so much that I felt a lot of kids didn’t buy into it. We spent a lot of time making sure in the spring they understood it’s their team. It seemed like last year a lot of kids were working against themselves in the end.”
   That feeling is gone, replaced by the anticipation of a big season for the Princeton University women’s soccer team.