Women top Boston University; men fall to Lehigh
By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
It was almost a perfect opening night on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium for the two Princeton University soccer teams.
First, the Tiger women battled back from a 1-0 deficit with two goals in the final 20 minutes to beat Boston University, 2-1. Later on Friday night, the PU men nearly rallied for a win of their own, falling just short in a 2-1 loss to Lehigh.
Both games were played in front of large crowds on the opening night of soccer at PU’s brand new complex.
”It was great,” said senior captain Lisa Chinn, who scored the game-winning goal for the women with just over a minute left to play. “We had so many fans. It was an honor to play the first game and we were so exciting to have our first game be a victory.
”Playing here was a great experience. It became a reality when we got into the locker room. We’ve played on the turf and seen the stadium. But coming here and playing this game made it a reality. I think we wanted to do everybody proud and the alumni proud. We were real excited.”
After a scoreless first half, BU scored first on a Farrell McClernon goal midway through the second half. Princeton evened the score less than two minutes later when Sarah Peteraf scored an unassisted goal.
With 1:06 left in the second half, Chinn took a lovely cross from Bernie DaCosta and scored the game-winner.
”With less than two minutes left I saw it floating across and I thought I have to make this,” Chinn said. “I give all the credit to Bernie on that one. She made a great cross. I saw the ball coming and the keeper was coming close, I just wanted to hit it past her.
”We haven’t won our first game in three years. So coming here and winning our home opener was really special for us. We were real excited. I’m proud of us. In my years here we’ve had trouble coming from behind. Coming back and scoring that goal was really great.”
PU coach Julie Shackford knew it was a special night and was pleased to come away with a win in the first game on the new field.
”I think we all felt a lot of pressure with this being the first game in the new stadium,” said Shackford, whose team dropped a 1-0 decision to Hofstra on Sunday to fall to 1-1. “I know I was really nervous. I’m proud of everyone. This was a good team with three games under its belt. So it was a nice win. It’s amazing to be in such a facility and it was a real honor to play here.”
The PU men were not quite as fortunate as the women, falling to a Lehigh team that improved to 3-0. The Tigers trailed, 2-0, when Brandon Busch scored with just over two minutes left to cut the lead in half. The Tigers had one more good chance in the game, but Zach Wyzgoski’s header sailed just wide with just over a minute left in the game.
”It’s great to get out on a stadium that is such a nice tribute to Robbie (Myslik) and the values that he had are what we try to promote every day here,” Princeton coach Jim Barlow said of playing the first game on the new field. “So having a field named after him is pretty special to me.
”We know our guys are going to fight. The problem is we can’t dig a hole for ourselves that we have to fight out of. The frustrating part is that at a point where I felt we had gotten a hold of the game, that’s when we gave up a goal. That can be frustrating, especially when goals are so hard to come by against a team like Lehigh.”
Princeton is back in action for two more home games this weekend. The Tigers host American on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., then will host Seton Hall on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The PU women will play their next home game Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. against Towson.

