September 2, 2015

Sparked by Gregoire’s Dazzling Ball Skills, Princeton Women’s Soccer Produces 2-0 Start

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FLYING START: Princeton University women’s soccer player Vanessa Gregoire, right, soars over a Howard player last Friday night in the 2015 season opener for the Tigers. Sophomore midfielder Gregoire contributed a goal and an assist in the contest as Princeton rolled to a 6-0 win over the Bison in the debut of new Tiger head coach Sean Driscoll. Two days later, Gregoire contributed two assists as Princeton topped Fordham 2-1. Gregoire was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week for her productive weekend. The Tigers will look to keep on the winning track as they host Rutgers on September 3 and Duquesne on September 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For Vanessa Gregoire, the season opener for the Princeton University women’s soccer team last Friday night against visiting Howard had been on her mind for a while.

“I finished my season last year and I was excited for the next one,” said sophomore midfielder Gregoire.

“We all love playing, we love spending time with each other, and we love playing with each other. It is a tight knit group and whenever we can get on the field together, it is always an amazing experience.”

In the game against Howard, Gregoire and her teammates produced an amazing offensive performance, scoring five unanswered goals in the first half on the way to a 6-0 win over the Bison at Roberts Stadium.

“I think we did a good job of finding some plays where we took advantage of some empty space that they left for us,” said Gregoire.

“We have some awesome speed and I think that helped us a lot. There were a lot of good contributions so I think it was a great buildup. I think we still have a lot to work on offensively but it was a good first step.”

Gregoire contributed to the onslaught through her excellence on the corner kick, scoring a goal on a corner 19:58 into the contest.

“It wasn’t the most intentional corner kick ever but it is a goal so I am not complaining,” said a grinning Gregoire, who also picked up an assist on a corner kick minutes later as Haley Chow headed in the volley into the box.

Gregoire is not complaining about her role on the team which sees her patrolling the middle of the field.

“I float around in the midfield a little bit,” said Gregoire, a native of Beaconsfield, Quebec who got two more assists as Princeton edged Fordham 2-1 last Sunday to improve to 2-0.

“We are still trying to figure things out and see where players fit best and where we can work to our advantage but I usually float around there.”

With a college season under her belt, Gregoire has a better sense of where she fits in for the Tigers.

“You have stronger relationships with the people on the field and I think that makes a difference,” added Gregoire, who was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week for her productive weekend.

“You just feel more in your element, you already know where you are in terms of the environment. I think that checks off one of the worries that you have coming in as a freshman. You try to grow every year, every minute, every second. Throughout the year I have tried to do that and I am hoping it has paid off, starting with today.”

Gregoire and her teammates are developing a good relationship with new head coach Sean Driscoll.

“It has been great, I think he is a great addition to the team,” said Gregoire.

“Shacks (previous head coach Julie Shackford) is obviously missed. I think we are working well with him. He has a great dedication to us. He is working hard for us and I think he is doing some good things for us.”

Driscoll, for his part, was pleasantly surprised by the team’s offensive outburst in the opener.

“I expected the energy, I expected the enthusiasm,” said Driscoll, who got goals from Natalie Larkin, Mimi Asom, Tyler Lussi, and Beth Stella in addition to Gregoire and Chow in the opening night victory.

“I am not going to say that I expected all the goals. They wanted to prove that they were going to be a contender this year in the league. It is definitely a very good start; it is the reaction you want to have.”

Sophomore Larkin got the offense going with a beautiful tally 8:13 into the game and then precocious freshman Asom followed with a top-shelf volley five minutes later.

“It was a great individual effort by Larkin, she nutmegged the girl and had the composure to put it in at the far post,” said Driscoll. “She is playing farther up the field as a wide mid instead of a wide back and she responded really well. Mimi is a very good finisher. She held the ball well, she turned the player well and she struck it with some velocity so it was a great finish.”

Gregoire turns heads with her ball skills. “Vanessa scored straight from the corner and assisted on the other one,”  added Driscoll

“She can do a lot of things with the ball, she is technically very good. She can place the ball pretty much wherever she wants to and her corner kicks were a testament to that.”

Junior star Lussi missed some opportunities but kept plugging in getting a goal late in the first half.

“Tyler is a very hard worker, she scores a lot of goals for a reason because she puts in the time and the effort,” said Driscoll.

“There were a lot of chances, she was close on a couple of others but she creates all sorts of
headaches for the defense.”

Driscoll was pleased with his team’s defensive effort as the Tigers held the Bison to five shots and yielded no corner kicks.

“Our focus is to defend really, really well, if we don’t give up any goals we have a very good chance of being successful,” said Driscoll.

“It started with the backs, they did a very good job, the midfield defended very well too. Across the board, the team defended well too so that is the No. 1 priority, a clean sheet.”

While Driscoll was thrilled to get a win in his Princeton debut, he was taking a long-term approach in assessing the victory.

“It is a dream start, you don’t get scored on and the team scores goals,” said Driscoll, whose squad hosts Rutgers on September 3 and Duquesne on September 6.

“Everyone is happy and life is good. It is Shangri-La right now. It is one game at a time so you are as good as your last game but it is a very good start.”

Gregoire concurred, noting that there is plenty of room for improvement despite the lopsided score line.

“It is always great to come out and win your first game, especially at home,” said Gregoire.

“We had some nice fans here today and any time you get a win, it is a confidence builder. Even though there are things that we have to work on, it is always good to win.”