Two trends came to an end Saturday night at Rhodes Field with the result of the final women’s soccer game of the season.
The first was Princeton’s string of six consecutive shutouts, four in Ivy play. The Tigers’ hopes of repeating last year’s seven-game streak were dashed by Penn freshman Alex Dayneka, whose goal ten minutes into the first half secured a home win for the Quakers.
The second was the reign of the most successful women’s soccer class in Penn’s history, which finished with a final record of 39-19-9 (13-11-4 Ivy). Seniors Michelle Drugan, Jessica Fuccello, Allyson Gordon, Sara Rose and Jess Rothenheber all started for the Red and Blue for the last time.
“Our seniors were terrific,” coach Darren Ambrose said. “I thought overall our team just had a little bit more experience tonight, and we were confident, playing at home.”
While Harvard had already clinched the Ivy title prior to Saturday’s game, the 1-0 Homecoming victory over Princeton (7-7-3, 3-3-1) left Penn (10-4-2, 4-3-0) with the prospect of moving up to third place on the final day of Ivy League play.
That outcome was realized two hours later with a 2-1 Crimson victory over Columbia, which moved Penn into a third-place tie with Dartmouth. Princeton, meanwhile slipped to a tie for fifth with the Lions.
Princeton did not significantly trouble the Quakers in the first half after Dayneka’s early goal, as the Penn defense gave the Tigers few opportunities to shoot. The guests succeeded in keeping the ball in the home half for much of the last 20 minutes, but were unable to convert their persistent attacks into goals.
“It might not have been the prettiest game of soccer, but we just worked harder than them and got the result,” said senior Jessica Fuccello, who ends her celebrated career after earning numerous awards and records including a joint school record for most goals in a season (16).
While Princeton achieved a total of eight shutouts this season, coach Julie Shackford expressed concern about her side’s inability to put goals on the board, something she hopes to rectify next season.
“We never got into a rhythm; there wasn’t any cadence to the game,” she said. “It was very choppy.”
While Shackford blamed the loss on Princeton’s poor showing, Ambrose favored Penn’s performance, stressing that “our kids just outbattled them today.”
While the achievement of her first career goal by Dayneka left Ambrose confident about the talent remaining in his squad for next year, he was keen to pay tribute to his seniors.
“The way they played tonight, to get ten wins … third in the League, is a good accomplishment for our group,” he said. “I’m really proud of them.”
