K-POP: Princeton University women’s soccer player Kayla Wong lofts a corner kick in a game last fall. Last Thursday night, senior midfielder Wong contributed two assists to help Princeton defeat Loyola University Maryland 3-0 in its season opener. The Tigers, who lost 3-0 at Syracuse on Sunday to move to 1-1, host No. 22 West Virginia (3-0) on August 27 and James Madison (1-2) on August 30. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Kayla Wong and her teammates on the Princeton University women’s soccer team were chomping at the bit to get their 2026 season underway when they hosted Loyola University Maryland last Thursday evening.
But with heavy thunderstorms hitting the area, the Tigers had to cool their jets a bit as the starting time of the game was delayed from 7 p.m. to 8:50.
Despite the delay, senior midfielder Wong was confident that the Tigers wouldn’t let the conditions dampen their spirit.
“It was a lot of waiting for sure, there was a lot of uncertainty,” said Wong, a 5’4 native of Manalapan. “The message from the captains and the message from the coaches was we have to stay locked in. We just wanted to come out fired up, we didn’t want to let the weather delay affect us. It is our home opener and regardless of the circumstances, we wanted to come out and make a statement.”
It proved to be worth the wait for Princeton as it jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead and never looked back on the way to a comprehensive 3-0 win.
Wong assisted on the first two goals to help jump start the Tiger attack.
“The entire team was bought in to this game, that was super important for us,” said Wong, noting that the Tigers had struggled in the early going last fall when they started 0-2-3. “We wanted to start the season a lot better than we did last year. We got the first goal and then after that
we knew.”
Playing a key role in the first goal, Wong helped set up the score which was tallied by Dylan Jovanovic 29:29 into the contest
“It was honestly a great team goal, Sarah [Houston] had a really good layoff to me and I was able to play it up to Stella,” said Wong. “Stella [Monberg] had perfect vision to see that Dylan was wide open. Dylan had a great finish. That was the best start we could have ask for. It was exactly what we practiced.”
About eight minutes later, Wong’s passing led to another great finish as she found Isabella Garces in front of goal who proceeded to boot the ball into the back of
the net.
“Bella had a great turn and finish, I was able to see her in that pocket,” said Wong. “Again that was another team goal that we were able to score.”
With conditions deteriorating in the second half as a windswept downpour drenched the players, the Tigers were determined not to let up.
“The first half was great, the message at halftime was we still need to stay locked in for 45 minutes,” said Wong. “Being able to get that third goal was super important to us. We wanted to lock them down. We also didn’t want to let them score.”
Getting the victory in the opener was important for the Tigers.
“I think it is a confidence builder for sure,” said Wong. “We had a lot of freshmen play tonight and make their debuts. They came out fired up. They looked very experienced out there even though it was their first game. I think it gives them confidence. It gives all of the senior leaders confidence that we have a really good team this year.”
As a senior, Wong is looking to help the freshmen thrive in their debut campaign.
“It is crazy honestly,” said Wong. “I am trying to use my experience of playing for four years and help the freshmen as much as I can because the freshmen are incredibly important to our success. So it is just being that senior member and being able to lift them up when they are down and
just encourage them and
push them.”
Getting two assists in the opener after totaling two goals and one assist in her junior season was encouraging for Wong.
“In the midfield I am always looking to set up my teammates and create for myself and my teammates,” said Wong. “It is definitely a confidence builder for myself too.”
Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll wasn’t confident that the Tigers were going to deal well with waiting nearly two hours to hit the pitch.
“I was very concerned because of the delay, you don’t know how that is going to affect the mood,” said Driscoll. “We had to shorten the warmup. We didn’t have the natural progression and the national anthem. We didn’t have the video, we didn’t have the warmup. A lot of things were missing so I was really worried about the energy but they came out flying and that is what we need from them.”
The Tigers needed to be sharp from the start to overcome a feisty Loyola squad.
“We lost to them last year on the road,” said Driscoll. “They came off a really good tie against Arkansas early this week. They are a very well coached team. We had to have a lot of energy. Last year we outshot them 21-7 but lost 2-1. This year it was 20-5 shots in our favor and we were much more efficient in front of goal.”
The goal by Jovanovic set the tone for Princeton. “Dylan was great, she worked extremely hard,” said Driscoll. “I am really happy that she gets the first goal and the game-winning goal.”
Driscoll was very happy with Wong’s playmaking. “Kayla is just such a smart player, we wish we had more of her,” said Driscoll. “She is so clean with the ball. She makes really good decisions. She is selfless. We want her to be more of an impact player in terms of getting goals and assists this year. I think she is more than capable and she certainly did that today. She ended the season last year with some goals. It took some time but she got into it. Right now she is starting off in really good form in training and with a really good attitude.”
The squad’s freshman group showed good form as newcomers Monberg and Mariana Gomez both picked up assists on the night.
“They are great, you could see right away their influence and it is important,” said Driscoll. “If you have a good freshman class like we did last year and we typically do, it just pushes from the ground up. It makes everyone work that much harder. The seniors have to work harder, the juniors have to work harder, the sophomores have to work harder. It just continues to make it really competitive.”
The final tally of the night, which came on a blast to the top corner by sophomore Maddie Recupero with 20:26 left in regulation, sealed the deal for the Tigers.
“It was a great goal from Maddie,” said Driscoll. “Maddie puts in so much work on her finishing, she puts a lot of extra time in. It is good to see her get a goal. She works so hard. She didn’t get quite as many as she wanted last year. She wants to influence the game more. She had a great goal tonight.”
The Princeton defense, which was sparked by sophomore Julia Johnson, senior Zoe Markesini, sophomore Aubrey Crisostomo, and senior Esme Rudell along with goalkeepers senior CeCe Cerone and junior Sydney Romano, stifled the Greyhounds.
“The back line in general and both goalkeepers, CeCe and Sydney, did a great job,” said Driscoll. “We have a really healthy competition at every position.”
Coming through in the opener was a great step for the Tigers.
“Last year was a really hard year,” said Driscoll. “We tend to start off in a decent fashion so not winning until our sixth game in the season was really difficult. It was a great way to start, especially at home.”
While things didn’t go great on Sunday for Princeton as it fell 3-0 at Syracuse in moving to 1-1, Driscoll believes it helps his squad to take on some hard challenges.
“I am excited to see what’s next,” said Driscoll, whose squad hosts No. 22 West Virginia (3-0) on August 27 and James Madison (1-2) on August 30. “We have a really tough slate of games coming up here. The hope is that you can test yourself against the best and see where we stand.”
Wong, for her part, is excited to be wrapping up her college career close
to home.
“Living in Jersey, you always hear the name Princeton, you have to know the name Princeton,” said Wong. “Being able to come here was my dream. It is perfect being able to play my last year 30 minutes away from my hometown in front of my family. It is just a dream come true.”