LOOSE BALL: Princeton University women’s soccer player Tyler Lussi, left, battles for the ball in recent action. Last Sunday, junior star Lussi scored a goal in a losing cause as Princeton fell 3-2 to visiting Duquesne. Princeton, now 2-2, hosts Delaware on September 10 before playing at Villanova on September 13. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
After rolling to a 2-0 start, outscoring its foes 8-1 in the process, the Princeton University women’s soccer team hit some bumps in the road last week.
On Thursday, Princeton hosted No. 22 Rutgers and battled the Scarlet Knights to a scoreless stalemate at half. But yielding two goals early in the second half, the Tigers went on to a 3-0 setback.
Three days later, Princeton hosted Duquesne determined to bounce back from the loss to Rutgers. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior star Tyler Lussi and forged ahead 2-1 early in the second half on a tally by precocious freshman Mimi Asom. But once again, Princeton sputtered down the stretch, surrendering two unanswered goals on the way to a 3-2 defeat.
In reflecting on the Rutgers loss, Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll was pleased with the way things started for his squad.
“I was actually happy with the first half, we wanted to sit in a little bit and pick them up near the bottom of the circle,” said Driscoll.
“They did the same thing as we did because it was so hot. We didn’t get too stretched too high, we didn’t put a lot of pressure on the back area on purpose, just not to play into a counterattack and the flanks. We created three good chances that we didn’t convert.”
Rutgers, though, converted twice in a 77-second span early in the second half to seize momentum.
“In the second half in the first few minutes, the game was changed,” said Driscoll.
“It was a little bit of everything, you can’t always blame us. There has to be some credit given to them for how they did it. They are a very good team. In terms of our decision-making in the second half, it wasn’t great. That falls on everybody; it falls on the players, it falls on the coaches. It is something we need to address, that is what the games are about, to get better.”
Despite falling behind 3-0 by the 57:18 mark, the Tigers kept pressing forward, generating some good scoring chances down the stretch.
“We didn’t give up, that is a positive, it is a gritty group of girls,” said Driscoll.
“Your true colors come out when you lose, not when you win. When you win everybody is happy. How you respond after you lose is a big difference so that is what we are going to wait and see.”
Driscoll is confident that his squad will respond well going forward. “We showed a lot of promise, we showed a lot of discipline and organization, and then the wheels came off a little bit in the second half so it is a learning experience,” said Driscoll, whose team hosts Delaware on September 10 before playing at Villanova on September 13.
“We just need to get back in a positive mental state and make sure that we learned the lessons we need and we improve. It is as simple as that and we will.”