Women’s soccer on top of Ivies
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
What a difference a year has made for Sarah Peteraf.
In her first year starting regularly last year for the Princeton University women’s soccer team, Peteraf did not score a goal, though she took 22 shots. She wasn’t totally confident nor comfortable.
”It still felt like from game to game it was up in the air,” Peteraf said. “I wasn’t sure how much playing time I’d get. And if I made a mistake, would I come out? If I took a risk, would I come out?
”Having that confidence now, even if I make a mistake, I know I’ll have more opportunities. It allows me more freedom.”
Peteraf has made the most of it. Her goal in the second overtime for a 2-1 win over Columbia on Saturday was her eighth of the season. Six of the eight have been game-winners for the Tigers, who are 9-1-2 and in first place in the Ivy League.
”It’s a combination of gaining confidence from last year and a sense of stability,” Peteraf said. “I’m getting a lot of opportunities just from what the team is creating. I’m trying to finish as many as I can.”
Peteraf is hoping to finish another game-winner — though she’ll take one from any of her teammates — when Princeton hosts Harvard 7 p.m. Saturday on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium. Last year, the Crimson topped Princeton, 4-2, and the Tigers season spiraled downward as they lost four of their final five including three of four Ivy contests to lose all shot at the conference title.
”We were here last year and were killed by Harvard last year at their place,” said PU head coach Julie Shackford. “Having them at home helps and our kids are playing with some confidence. They know they won’t be outworked. They’ll make sure they take care of the intangibles.
”We can do a better job of finishing our chances. Against Brown, we had three open goals we missed. I think we’ll get our chances.”
Coming into the season, Shackford openly wondered who would finish those chances. It has been Peteraf, who has matured into the goal-scorer that the Tigers expected when she came to Old Nassau from Hanover, N.H. She had just four goals before this season, two as a freshman and two as a sophomore.
”We had a lot of talks with her over the last couple years about not producing,” Shackford said. “I know she was disappointed she didn’t score goals. She’s probably our only natural finisher. Give her a chance around the 18, it’s always on the frame, it’s always dangerous.”
This year, her shots have gone in, even the ones that haven’t necessarily had a chance. Getting some breaks along the way has helped her and the Tigers.
”We’ve had some bizarre goals,” Peteraf said. “Against Fairfield, I crossed the ball, it hit off the back of one of the defender’s heads and spiraled into air and somehow went in. It was the weirdest situation ever. That’s happened a couple times this year.”
The Tigers haven’t needed many goals to win as the defense has been spectacular. Columbia’s score broke a stretch of 702 shutout minutes for the Princeton defense and goalie Aly Pont. The Tigers defense has taken pressure off the offense to score, and Peteraf and the offense have done their part up top.
”You don’t want them to have to be perfect,” Shackford said of her defense. “They’ve done well. Taylor Numann has been unbelievable too.
”Harvard has really dangerous kids up top. They killed us last year on counterattacks. We can’t let them exploit space behind us.”
Princeton handed Columbia its first Ivy loss last Saturday. They will try to further distance themselves from the rest of the league. Harvard is 3-1, just one point behind the Tigers, who are 3-0-1.
”Harvard was the game that stopped us in our tracks,” Peteraf said. “This is a different year and we have different players and we’ve had a different run up until now. We’re going to be trying to not have a repeat of last year.”
Princeton has surprised everyone to this point. They have just seven players in the upper two classes. But one of them is Peteraf, who has saved her best season for her last.
”Certainly the older girls, we came in wanting to do the best we could, especially being our last year,” Peteraf said. “I don’t think we necessarily saw this coming.
”Right now,” she added, “the four seniors, Lisa Chinn has (won) but the other three haven’t won an Ivy League championship. That’s really our goal at the moment.”
And if it’s a goal they need, the Tigers can count on Sarah Peteraf who has been a different player for the PU women’s soccer team this year.
”From the beginning of the season,” Shackford said, “you could see she wanted to lead and she was excited about it and maybe put a little more into it.”

