TIGER LILY: Princeton University women’s soccer player Lily Bryant boots the ball against Penn last Wednesday evening. Senior star forward/midfielder Bryant scored the lone goal in the contest as Princeton prevailed 1-0. The Tigers, who fell 2-1 at Yale last Sunday to move to 6-4 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, host Harvard on October 19 before playing at UMBC on October 22. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Lily Bryant helped the Princeton University women’s soccer team put the heat on visiting Penn in the first half last Wednesday night at Roberts Stadium.

With Princeton coming off an 8-0 win over Brown on October 5, senior Bryant fired two shots as the Tigers outshot the Quakers 12-2 and built an 8-3 edge in corner kicks in the first 45 minutes of the contest.

But with the rivals locked in a scoreless tie at halftime, Princeton knew it had to be sharper around goal.

“We thought we were playing pretty well,” said senior forward/midfielder Bryant, a 5’6 native of Brookline, Mass. “It was just getting into the 18-yard box and getting ourselves a final chance towards goal. We were struggling with that a little bit. Our main goal was to impose our style of play more on the game.”

In the second half, Bryant imposed her will, blasting the ball past Penn goalie Annabel Austen into the back of the net at the 62:05 mark to give Princeton a 1-0 lead.

“I was in flight or fight mode,” said Bryant. “We saw on the scout that was a place we wanted to exploit on the field. There were openings and it was just about finding the right ball and timing the right run. It kind of all came together on that play.”

The Tigers held on for a 1-0 win as they overcame a scary scene when Princeton senior star and co-captain Heather McNab sustained a head injury on a collision with a Penn player midway through the second half and had to be carted off the field.

“I think was a sign to us that we needed to control this game a little bit better,” said Bryant, reflecting McNab’s injury. “That wasn’t the first head injury of the game so we wanted to make sure that it was the last.”

The return of junior star forward Pietra Tordin, who was in her third game back with the Tigers after helping the U.S. take bronze in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, has helped spark the Tiger offense.

“If she is not scoring goals, she is pulling players out of positions that open up space for other players,” said Bryant of Tordin, who tallied three goals and an assist in her first three appearances this fall. “Obviously she is exceptionally talented.”

As a two-time All-Ivy League selection, Bryant has brought plenty of talent to the field for Princeton.

“I am just trying to fit into the positions that I am being put in,” said Bryant, who has tallied two goals and two assists this season and now has 10 goals and 16 assists in her Tiger career. “I have played a little bit of midfield, I have played a little bit of outside forward. I am just trying to go out with a bang this season.”

Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll credited Bryant with playing well in the win over Penn.
“Lily has two goals in two games and she has the game-winning goal in the last two games so I think that is amazing for her,” said Driscoll. “She had a few games without that so I am really happy to see her get rewarded for all of her hard work.”

Driscoll’s acknowledged that Penn made things hard for the Tigers. “It was a game between two good teams, they are much better than their record is,” said Driscoll of Penn, which dropped to 1-7-4 with the loss. “They played really well against Yale last week. Every time we have played them, it has been a tie or one goal game. There is no surprise there, not one part of that game surprised me.”

It has been no surprise to Driscoll that having Tordin back on the field has made a difference for the Tigers. “She is a really talented player with a lot of experience at a high level so every team looks for her and defends her,” said Driscoll of Tordin. “They did a great job of defending her. It took a number of players to focus on her which gave us opportunities in other areas. They basically had a three-back who focused on her. They left their wingbacks to deal with out wide forwards and that is where we got them in transition a few times. But ultimately it took a great goal to win the game and a little bit of luck.”

Seeing McNab go down was certainly bad luck for the Tigers.

“I think they struggled with their focus, it was really difficult for myself as well,” said Driscoll. “I couldn’t think of anything else nor can I right now. I am going to see her. The most important thing is not the win, it is the kid’s health. She is a trooper. She is our fearless leader, the team rallies around her all of the time. She gives us every bit of her energy.”

Driscoll likes the energy he is seeing from his players this fall at the defensive end.

“I think our defense has played well all season, the biggest thing is that we keep ourselves in games even when we are not performing at the highest level,” said Driscoll, whose team fell 2-1 at Yale last Sunday to move to 6-4 overall and 3-1 Ivy League and hosts Harvard on October 19 before playing at UMBC on October 22.

“We have been a really, really tough team to score on, Tyler [McCamey] and CC (Celia Cerone) in goal and of course the back line in front of them and the overall team mentality defensively. If you keep the game at zero you always have a chance to win. I love the fact that we are defending as well as we are. We defend well in set pieces, we defend well in rhe run of play, we don’t allow a ton of really good chances on goal. I think that if you have that, you have a really good basis to do well.”

Bryant, for her part, believes that the squad’s positive chemistry has also formed part of the basis for its success.

“We have a really, really good thing going for us right now with the unity,” said Bryant. “We really want to work hard for each other. I think it shows on the field. This is the most cohesive group I have ever been a part of. These girls love each other so much, we have good camaraderie. This team is so special, we just want to spend time with each other. It is like nothing I have ever seen before.”