BACK IN FORM: Princeton University women’s soccer player Zoe Markesini (No. 6), left, chases down a ball in recent action. Senior defender and team co-captain Markesini has bounced back from an Achilles injury that sidelined her for most of last season to help lead the Tiger back line. Last Sunday, Markesini and the Tigers battled to a 1-1 tie at Villanova. Princeton, now 4-3-1, starts Ivy League action when it hosts Harvard on September 26. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Justin Feil
Zoe Markesini has taken a little something from every experience she’s had during her career with the Princeton University women’s soccer team.
It includes the good, like starting as a freshman after arriving from Markham, Ont., Canada, playing for Team Canada in the U-20 FIFA World Cup, and sharing back-to-back Ivy League championship seasons with the Tigers the last two years. There’s also a little bad. Last season’s title carries an asterisk for her because Markesini was on the sidelines after a torn Achilles ended her season after only four games.
“It was just so unexpected,” said Markesini of her injury.
“But I’ve said this to so many people, it gave me so much perspective of how much I adore the sport and I adore this team and how much I just want to get back and playing with them. And being back now, the support has just been amazing.”
There were some moments of concern in the preseason about returning to form and her chance at reinjury. Markesini had a goal in their preseason scrimmage against Penn and has been feeling better and looking more like her old self with each week while enjoying each opportunity she has.
“Having an injury last year has given me a different appreciation for every day, every game and every practice, no matter if it’s a top 25 team or whether it’s an Ivy game or whatever it might be,” said Markesini. “Just the ability to play, for me, means everything. And when I was watching on the sidelines and still supporting my team, it was really, really hard, and my heart broke every day that I wasn’t able to put on cleats with everybody else.”
She made her eighth start and played all 90 minutes for the third time this season as Princeton closed its non-conference schedule with a 1-1 tie against unbeaten Villanova on Sunday. Princeton moved to 4-3-1 overall with their third straight game without a loss.
“It was a really good game for us,” said Markesini. “It being our last out of conference game, we wanted to show some compete and some grit and end on a bang. And although we weren’t able to get the win and take away their undefeated season, we showed some really good moments, and it showed us something different that we hadn’t seen yet.”
Markesini and the Tigers faced a more direct attack from Villanova than they will see in their next game when they host Harvard, which plays a possession style like Princeton, on September 26 in the Ivy League opener for both teams. The Tigers gained some momentum after a strong showing against Villanova.
“To see us come out of our comfort zone a little bit and really compete, that’s great,” said Princeton head coach Sean Driscoll. “I think it lets us know we can play in a couple different ways and still have some sort of success.”
The Crimson are riding a five-game winning streak after dropping their first two games of the season. Harvard beat Princeton, 2-0, in last year’s lone meeting. Princeton is 3-0 at home this year.
“We’ve historically had such a big rivalry with them,” said Markesini. “And playing Harvard is always kind of a stop in our schedule, and to have that as our Ivy home opener is really exciting. They’ve been doing really great. They’ve had some top 25 wins, which is really exciting for us. And I think that — especially with last year we didn’t get a win against them — and so it’ll be nice to have a bit of a rematch and to hopefully have a different result this week.”
Princeton’s defensive will face a significant challenge as Harvard is ranked 19th nationally in scoring, averaging 2.88 goals per game.
“Defensively, I think Villanova was a great step for us,” said Markesini. “We were tested a lot, our back line, and I think there was some really good growth there. And to bring that into facing Harvard’s possession offense will be a great matchup overall. To play a team that definitely resembles us, whereas Villanova was a little more direct, so we kind of had to adjust, it’ll be good to kind of get back to our DNA and our identity.”
Princeton got off to a great start at Villanova. Ten minutes into the game, Dylan Jovanovic put the Tigers on the board after scoring off a pass from Stella Monberg. It was only the second goal that Villanova has allowed all season.
“We really wanted to be the first team that scored a goal on them, but Delaware was able to do that before us last week,” said Markesini. “But our goal was, can we get on them early? Can we score quickly and kind of put them on their heels? And that’s what we did. And so that was great to see.”
Princeton has only allowed one goal in its last three games. It’s a sign of progress for a defense that has some new parts fitting in around Markesini in the lineup. Getting her back has been a huge plus. She is one that steps up to the toughest competition after having played internationally as well as collegiately for four years.
“Having that experience is essential,” said Driscoll. “She’s also just a team-first individual who wants the best for everybody and also will give everything she can to the team. She’s so incredibly well respected by the group. And on top of all of it, she spent a year out with a difficult injury, and as someone who already loves the game to then be out and miss it even more, I think it just gives us that much more of an influence now that she’s back on the field.”
Three goalies, too, have all seen action in the last four games with Cecilia Cerone and Sydney Romano splitting the Villanova game after Cerone and Carson Proctor split the 3-0 Lehigh win before that.
“The communication and the height of our whole back line, making sure that we’re staying really connected and moving as one, has been great,” said Markesini. “And I think just gelling. We had some younger players kind of coming in and playing big minutes in the back line, which is fantastic. We’re getting the little nuances and the little details of playing with each other. We’ve just been growing with every game. And so as that’s gotten better, I think that we’ve conceded a lot less and we were able to keep that clean sheet, which has been so important to us.”
They are part of the incredible depth that Princeton has, enough so that Driscoll routinely played 20-22 field players each non-conference game. Those minutes were chances for players to prove themselves ahead of the Ivy schedule.
“Ivy League play is a whole different animal,” said Driscoll.
“Games matter more. Stress is more higher. How you manage that is more important. Road trips are longer oftentimes. So it’s making sure we have enough players that we believe that, one, know that they can play for us, and two, understand how to play in our system.”
Markesini is thrilled to be back on the pitch alongside her teammates. Last year, after being hurt, she was relegated to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. She wasn’t alone in an injury plagued season, and it helped to have some fellow injured teammates alongside her, but it was quite an adjustment. She tried to lend her voice and be the best teammate in a far different way than she’d ever been.
“Every session or every game, I tried to pick out one or two players that I would just focus on and kind of be their personalized coach and kind of make developments individually,” said Markesini.
“And then as a team, just kind of putting in my perspective and kind of my viewpoint on the sidelines because the game is so different from the side versus being on it. You see so many different things, you see different dynamics. And so it was really great in that sense to develop that new understanding.”
Markesini has accrued a wealth of knowledge and experience in her lifelong passion. She settled on Princeton in junior year of high school, following a pipeline of strong Canadian players that have been through the Princeton program. She’s been a mainstay in the lineup since her arrival, though she missed the first five games of her sophomore year while competing in the U-20 World Cup with Canada.
“Having that experience and being able to represent the Canadian crest at the youth level meant everything to me,” said Markesini. “I think from when I was like eight years old wanting to play soccer, I’d never imagined that I’d be able to represent my country. And so every time I was fortunate enough to put the jersey on, it just reflected all the work that I put in throughout all the years, all the practices, all the games, all the sacrifices my family’s made, all the support my friends have given me. And then also being able to play in the U-20 Cup here representing my Princeton family. I mean, I wouldn’t have been able to be at that level without them.”
Markesini will weigh her options beyond this year. She has another year of NCAA eligibility if she wants to use it. Or she could move along.
“I’m still undecided if I want to try and play professionally after this year or maybe take that fifth year,” said Markesini. “But I think I’m just taking it game by game and seeing how the development comes. Especially with being injured, I just want to take my time and make sure that I’m putting myself in the best position for whatever I do next. But I definitely want to continue with soccer in some facet.”
Last year was reassuring of how much she still loves the game and yet it also helped her think about when soccer is all over for her. It was some important perspective that she kept close to her through this senior season of soccer with the Tigers.
“Having the time off last year showed me that I don’t need soccer and that there are other things,” said Markesini. “I don’t need it, but I don’t want to live in a world where I don’t have the opportunity to. So that’s taught me a lot about myself and that I can be OK without it, but I really do adore the sport and it did deepen my love and my appreciation and my adoration for the sport.”