BARRY GOOD: Princeton University women’s soccer player Alexandra Barry, right, boots the ball in a game last season. Sophomore forward Barry, who tallied four goals and five assists for the Tigers in her debut campaign, figures to be a key scoring threat this fall. Princeton, the defending Ivy League champion, kicks off its 2025 season by hosting Rutgers on August 22. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Justin Feil
Sean Driscoll compares preseason for his Princeton University women’s soccer team to waking up on Christmas Day.
“You’re checking out all the new things under the tree and then you’re having this incredible amount of hope of what the capacity is,” said Princeton head coach Driscoll.
Driscoll is feeling good about the way the Tigers reported for preseason in response to all that they lost after becoming the first team to win both the Ivy League regular season title and the Ivy Tournament last fall. Gone are seven starters from last year’s 14-5 season, but he’s happy about the development of the returning players since then plus the maturity of the incoming freshmen.
“I’m not going to say it’s going to yield anything,” Driscoll said. “I’m just saying now, at this moment in time, it’s the best I’ve seen so far. It’s been exactly what I would have hoped for.”
The Tigers open their season on August 22 by hosting in-state rival Rutgers. They hit the road for the first time two days later when they play at Loyola.
“I do see a lot of pieces in training and a little bit from our (Penn scrimmage) game that give me real belief, but one game changes everything,” said Driscoll. “Friday will be really interesting. It’s a very, very good opponent and then to hit the road going down to Baltimore, driving up and back the same day, to do that is going to be a challenge too against a very well-coached Loyola team.”
Princeton will trot out a new lineup that is missing key pieces at both ends of the field in leading scorer Pietra Tordin, who left with a year remaining in her college eligibility to play professionally for the Portland Thorns FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, while goalie Tyler McCamey was one of seven seniors to graduate and she signed with another NWSL team, Gotham FC. Fellow 2025 grad Heather MacNab also signed in the NWSL. Another 2025 graduate, Ryann Brown, is using her final year of NCAA eligibility at North Carolina as a grad student transfer.
“Obviously we lost a lot last year in terms of experience and quality and talent and we’ve got a lot of kids playing at the next level now,” said Driscoll. “You’re moving on from a very influential class. I think that’s what’s the most intriguing piece for us is to see what the next iteration is going to be with such a change of losing seven starters from last year. Having said that, the spring was really successful. I thought the kids did a fantastic job and I think that just so far this fall, I think we’re certainly trending in the right direction.”
Each class will be asked to contribute this year. Princeton’s roster is relatively thin with three goalies among their 23 players. But there is talent to put out on the field.
“We’ve got a freshman class that does not look like freshmen,” said Driscoll. “They all look like sophomores, and the way they approach the game is really good. We’ve got a really good senior and junior and sophomore class that are all chomping at the bit for an opportunity to continue to show what they’re capable of.”
Princeton returns only one starter on the back line, but it’s Zoe Markesini, a junior who missed the beginning of 2024 to play FIFA U-20 tournament for Canada. She is a co-captain along with senior forward Ally Murphy. Caroline Cane is a senior who is healthy and looking to start in the center back. Senior Kelsee Wozniak is a converted forward who saw significant time last year. Julia Johnson, a freshman, is the only other full-time defender listed on Princeton’s roster, but the Tigers have some defending midfielders, part of a deep and mobile midfield group.
The Tigers will need to be stout in the back in front of a new starting goalie, which is a key hole to fill. Princeton’s options to replace McCamey are junior Cecilia Cerone, sophomore Sydney Romano and freshman Carson Proctor. They have been pushing each other daily under the tutelage of assistant Chris Duggan.
“The three of them are unbelievable in terms of training and their habits and their willingness to do whatever it takes to help their team in training win,” said Driscoll. “All three are making some outstanding saves. It’s really elevated the entire training session because they’re so locked in. They get put through it every day by Chris and when they get brought back in with the field players, they are just incredible. And so it’s a really, really cool environment.”
The other big question mark for the Tigers is how to make up for the loss of Tordin, their leading scorer by far with 10 goals in 10 games last year. Six other players last year scored at least three goals, and 23 of their 40 goals are back overall, but they’ll have to be a bit more dynamic overall to make up for Tordin’s absence. Alexandra Barry scored four goals in seven games in an injury shortened season. Returners Brooke Dawahare and Isabella Garces also had four goals apiece while Drew Coomans and Kayla Wong had three goals apiece.
“We have the quality to pose some threats in the attack and I think we will,” said Driscoll. “I just think it comes down to self-belief and confidence, and the only thing that gives you more confidence is scoring a goal. And so until each kid starts to get their groove, it’s a matter of wait and see. But I do like the energy and training. It’s really, really focused. In general we’ve been more clinical with our finishing in training day-to-day which is great.”
Princeton has been playing with a new formation for this season. It would take a player out of the back line to push her into the midfield. The formation would give Princeton flexibility to float two outside midfielders back and be very defensive, or push midfielders forward more to create an advantage offensively. The Tigers are hoping to find a way to marry those philosophies based on what they need in a game.
“One more number means a better chance for keeping possession,” said Driscoll. “One more number means a better chance of winning the ball that much quicker.”
The upperclassmen have a better sense of what is ahead, but they can’t do it all. That’s where the freshmen can make their presence felt, and the Tigers have seen a lot of confidence out of their first-year players already in training.
“I’ve yet to have a class that acclimated this quickly,” said Driscoll. “It’s really, really interesting. And it’s exactly what we needed because of all the departures.”
Princeton’s opening weekend gives it a great chance to test players and formations against quality competition. Rutgers is 2-0 after shutting out NJIT and Fairfield — Driscoll’s former team before coming to Princeton. Princeton beat Rutgers in 2021 but the Scarlet Knights haven’t lost to the Tigers in the last five meetings in Princeton. The Tigers have to be good on the counterattack and defending when they lose the ball.
“They’ve been really exciting games, really well attended,” said Driscoll. “I expect there’ll be a good crowd on Friday night. So that’ll be a fun atmosphere certainly to introduce some of these kids to their first ever starts or first ever playing in college. I wish it was when school started, it absolutely would be sold out. But I think it’s going to be a really cool environment and it’s a good Jersey battle. I think what’s really cool lately is that the Princeton men and women’s teams are playing Rutgers in a lot of sports, and it’s bringing in a good crowd. They’re good teams.”
After the opener, Princeton turns around to go on the road to Loyola on Sunday. The foes haven’t played since 2021 and the Tigers have won four of the five meetings against the Greyhounds. Loyola is 1-1 after tying Florida Atlantic and then beating St. Peter’s, 2-0.
“We’re going to need to be, to the best of our ability, fresh,” said Driscoll. “We have to rotate players. We’ll have to be really, really intentional with how we handle the weekend with minutes to play, and the elements of playing a big game at home and then turning around and go on the road a day and a half later and trying to get another result.”
The Tigers also can’t get caught up thinking ahead to their third game – when they host a Top 20 Ohio State team on August 28. Princeton will play seven non-conference games as it looks to gain momentum toward defending their Ivy crown when they open league play September 19 at Penn.
Earlier this week, the Tigers were picked first in the Ivy League preseason poll by the league’s athletic communications contacts and one media member for each school. Ivy Tournament finalist Brown was picked second, Harvard third and Columbia fourth. Princeton isn’t putting much stock in it. The Tigers prefer to be underdogs.
“I think that it’s a league that’s going to be wide open,” said Driscoll. “Frankly, we lost a lot, Columbia lost a lot and Harvard lost a lot. So three of the top four teams last year lost several starters. I just think that the league in general is better. I think it’s going to be very, very tight this year given the departures from some of the higher teams and the returners in the league’s depth. I think the teams that maybe finished five, six, seven, eight — I think they’re all going to have something to prove. I just think it’s going to be a wide open league.”
Princeton has a good starting point with a group of hungry returning veterans and a strong class of freshmen looking to be contributors immediately. But the Tigers always put the focus on how they finish, and that will again be true. If they can build on a strong preseason, that bodes well as Princeton looks for its first repeat Ivy crowns since 2017 and 2018.
“I just hope we’re within range come the playoffs,” said Driscoll, referring to the Ivy tournament which features the teams that finish in the top four in the regular season standings. “That’s the number one focus —get to the playoffs, be really good at home, we have a daunting road schedule and I think what I’m hoping for more than anything is just the DNA of this team is this willingness to work no matter where we go and fight and scratch and claw our way to whatever results we need.”