ON THE MARK: Princeton University women’s soccer player Zoe Markesini, center, celebrates after scoring a goal last Friday evening as Princeton hosted Rutgers in its season opener. Markesini’s goal, the first in her career, was the lone score for the Tigers as they played to a 1-1 draw with the Scarlet Knights. Princeton, who lost 2-1 to Loyola on Sunday as junior defender Markesini scored another goal, hosts Ohio State on August 28 and Syracuse on August 31. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Zoe Markesini showed up late for her sophomore season on the Princeton University women’s soccer team last year but she had a good excuse.
Markesini competed for the Canada national squad in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and gained some valuable experience as the team made the Round of 16 where it fell 2-1 to Spain on September 11.
“It has been fundamental part of my growth and development as a player at the collegiate level,” said defender Markesini, a native of Markham, Ontario. “A lot of the experiences playing different countries has definitely helped me grow into the collegiate game with the physicality and the pace of it.”
Last Friday evening as Princeton hosted Rutgers in its season opener, Markesini displayed her growth, spearheading a superb defensive effort and scoring a second half goal as the Tigers battled to a 1-1 draw with the Scarlet Knights before a crowd of 1,208 at Roberts Stadium.
Markesini’s tally, the first of her career, came as she blasted in a corner kick from Drew Coomans that curled into the box.
“We have been working a lot on our set plays and being clinical on them,” said Markesini, who did tally four assists last season as she earned second-team All-Ivy League honors. “Brooke [Dawahare] and I were both hungry for the ball and it happened to trickle down and I just shot and hoped and it worked out. I am proud of every single person involved in that play.”
Markesini was also proud of the Tigers’ play at the defensive end as Princeton held Rutgers to one shot in the first half and seven on the day.
“We take pride in or defensive structure, really the only way they were able to get it was on the counter,” said Markesini. “We have some things to clean up moving forward but definitely proud of the effort of the team defensively.”
Princeton was primed for a big effort overall in the season opener.
“Our preseason has been great; we have been training really hard and working on a lot and growing every day,” said Markesini.“We were definitely excited to come out and play here in front of an amazing home crowd and in a New Jersey rivalry. We were definitely pumped and excited about it.”
As one of the squad’s most experienced players, Markesini has grown into a leadership role, serving as a captain this fall.
“Being a junior now I am more of a veteran player,” said Markesini. “I think it is encouraging our freshmen and underclassman, they put in a tremendous effort this preseason. They all bring something so new to this team that we haven’t had before. It is so exciting to see the potential we have moving forward with them.”
Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll was excited by how his players competed against Rutgers.
“We have a lot of new faces, we lost a lot of experience,” said Driscoll. “This is the litmus test to see where we were. If you are going to find out, you are going to need to find out against a really good team. On this day with a lot of nerves and excitement in equal measure. I would say it was a great college soccer game and I am happy with what I see so far.”
The contest went back and forth with some nervous moments as the teams traded goals in a span of 4:23 late in the second half.
“I thought there were some really good chances but that is a typical college game,” said Driscoll. “It could have gone either way. We missed a penalty kick and then we score and they make a penalty kick and the game is just hanging in the balance. A goal swings the game so many times.”
Driscoll was fired up to see Markesini score her first college goal.
“It is great for Zoe, we have to figure out where the goals are going to come from,” said Driscoll. “It is going to have to come from the entire team. It is nice for her to do that. She works really hard for us and for her to get a goal, I am really happy for her.”
The play of Princeton’s newcomers also made Driscoll happy.“Nina [Cantor] had a good game, she grew into the game after having nerves understandably at the beginning,” said Driscoll. “Anna [Chau] played left back right behind her and had a really good game. Maddie [Recupero] is a really good central midfielder. It is hard to explain to somebody how hard this game is going to be. They did well.”
In addition to Markesini, several of the team’s veterans stepped up.“Drew [Coomans] is a weapon, Drew does a lot for us,” said Driscoll. “Kayla [Wong] obviously was good. Ceci [Cerone] was excellent in goal. Brooke [Dawahare] was good. Kelsee [Wozniak] did really well at right back as did Caroline [Kane] at center back. I don’t think anyone went on the field and didn’t give us something. They all gave us something to work with.”
On Sunday, the Tigers worked hard at Loyola, outshooting the Greyhounds 24-4 but falling 2-1 as Markesini found the back of the net again to account for Princeton’s scoring. As Driscoll looked forward to the game with Loyola, he knew his squad was in for a challenge.
“I think Sunday is a really tough game for us to go on the road back and forth in one day and try to get a result against a good team,” said Driscoll, whose team will look to get on the winning track as it hosts Ohio State on August 28 and Syracuse on August 31. “Every game is different. It is just a chapter in a book, no two games are the same. We need to be able to try different things in different ways to be a little more unpredictable as a team.”
Markesini, for her part, believes the Tigers will get tougher and tougher as the season unfolds.
“A tie is not ideal, we always want to win but this is a huge growing moment for us,” said Markesini. “It is the first step in our journey. I think it is great to look back and learn and find things we can improve on.”