Women's Soccer Loses To Princeton In Overtime, 2-1
September 29, 2002 | Women's Soccer
| Game Stats | Season Stats |
Princeton sophomore Esmeralda Negron scored 1:33 into the first overtime to lead the Tigers' women's soccer team to a 2-1 come-from-behind overtime win over the host Terriers at Nickerson Field on Sunday.
The loss was the third in a row for B.U., which is now 3-5-1 overall this year. In the meantime, Princeton, which entered the game ranked 23rd in the nation, improved to 7-0-0.
After a scoreless first half, the Terriers took a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute when sophomore Ashley Chassar (Lewiston, NY) scored her first collegiate goal with an assist to junior Rebecca Beyer (Kansas City, MO).
Beyer, who had started the first eight games this year at midfield, was moved up to forward on Sunday in an effort to help generate more scoring by the Terriers. The move paid off when Beyer took the ball deep into the Princeton zone. Her shot from inside the box was steered away at the last minute by Princeton goalkeeper Jean Poster. However, the ball came off the post where Chassar collected it. Chassar, who had been playing midfield, came a long way to get the ball, and her effort paid off when her shot found the open net.
It ended a long scoring drought for the Terriers, who had not scored a goal since the Maine game. It covered a stretch of over 323 minutes of play.
"It was nice to finally get the goal," said Terrier head coach Nancy Feldman.
It was only the third goal the Tigers had allowed all season, as they entered the game outscoring their opponents by a 14-2 margin.
Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived as Princeton came back to tie the game in the 72nd minute when sophomore Kristina Fontanez scored her team-leading sixth goal. Senior Krista Ariss who found herself deep in the Terrier zone took the initial shot. Her shot, taken inside the box, was saved by Terrier goalkeeper Jessica Clinton (Valley Stream, NY). However, the ball came loose just outside the Terrier goal. Fontanez just had to slip the ball into the empty right corner on the goal, and Princeton had the equalizer.
The score remained knotted at 1-1 through the final 18:29 of regulation, as it set up the second overtime game of the season for the Terriers and first for Princeton. The Tigers controlled play until Negron brought the ball deep into the Terrier zone. Clinton was forced to come out of the goal to cut down any angles. Before the Terrier keeper could smother the ball, Negron faked right and went left and found the far right hand corner of the goal for the winner.
"I feel really sorry for Jessica," Feldman said of her junior keeper, who finished the game with 10 saves. "She was in the right place at the right time most the game, and I thought she played very well."
The coach gave praise to Princeton, which as advanced to the NCAA tournament each of the last three years.
"They are a terrific team," confirmed the coach. "They are legitimate. I think they are the best team on our schedule."
The coach then lamented about her team.
"We have to be harder," she said. "We had our moments today, but then it dropped off, and we can't do that. We need a stronger will, and we have to play well enough for 90 minutes to make a game out of it. We need to be grittier. Right now, we are not at the level where we should be.
"We are certainly playing better than we did last week, when we lost to Rhode Island," Feldman went on. "But, we are still not doing the things we need to do as a team in order to win.
"I am not focusing on our record or our lack of scoring," she concluded. "I am focused on our effort, and what we need to do to win."
The Terriers close out their four-game home stand on Wednesday night (October 2nd) when they host Boston College at 7:00 p.m.
"Our schedule continues to be tough," Feldman pointed out. "After BC, seven of our last nine games are against Conference teams. It's going to be tough because we have something they want."
What the Terriers have are back-to-back conference titles, and the number one ranking in the pre-season poll.
"But, they have something we want-wins," said the coach. "They think we have a kink in our armor, and they think that maybe they can get us this year. But, we will have to be ready for them."
| Team | First Half | Second Half | 1st OT | Final |
| Princeton (7-0-0; 2-0-0) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Boston University (3-5-1; 1-0-0) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Scoring |
| B.U.--Chassar (Beyer), 69:08 |
| Princeton--Fontanez (Ariss), 71:31 |
| Princeton--Nagron (unassisted), 91:33 |
| Statistics | | |
| Saves | Jessica Clinton, B.U., 10 | Jean Poster, Princeton, 3 |
| Corner Kicks | B.U., 5 | Princeton, 10 |
| Shots | B.U., 9 | Princeton, 18 |
