The Dartmouth women's soccer team fell to a record of 6-3-0 after suffering a 2-0 loss yesterday to the Princeton Tigers (3-4-2, 1-1 Ivy). The match was the second straight Ivy competition for the two teams and brings both teams to 1-1 in the conference. The loss serves as a setback for Dartmouth, which had previously excelled in non-conference play and also won their first Ivy match over Brown last Saturday.
"We absolutely expected a win," said Dartmouth coach Angie Hind. "I'm disappointed with the result. The game as a whole was all us."
Perhaps Hind's comment was fairly accurate; Dartmouth tied Princeton with four shots on goal and earned four corner kicks, while Princeton only took one. The game was played in both halves of the field, both teams putting pressure on the goalkeepers.
However, the difference maker in the game was Princeton's center midfielder, co-captain Diana Matheson '08. While it may seem odd for a sophomore to be a captain, Matheson actually took time off from college to play for Canada in the World Cup. She is Canada's starting center midfielder.
Matheson scored the game-winning goal off of a free kick in the 21st minute. Taken just outside of the penalty box, Matheson put the ball over Dartmouth's wall and past goalkeeper Amanda Webb '08. Even though the shot was within reach, it deflected off the hands of the usually rock-solid Webb. This was only the third game in which Webb gave up two goals.
Matheson also set up the Tigers second goal. In the 60th minute, Matheson sent a long ball in between Dartmouth defenders to Princeton's co-captain, senior Emily Behncke streaking down the right side of the field. Fielding the pass with only the goalie in front of her, Behncke chipped the ball over Webb and into the back of the net to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Matheson's influence was not limited to these two plays however. Only four minutes prior to the second goal, she sent a long ball over the Dartmouth defense to give Behncke a partial breakaway she was unable to finish on. She also had three shots on the day.
"Diana is just a level above everyone else on the field," said Princeton coach Julie Shackford of her star midfielder. "She just sees the game better."
While Matheson did take advantage of her opportunities with the ball, she did not dominate the game. For the most part, Dartmouth did not feel as though they had difficulty covering her.
"I didn't feel like we had that much trouble covering her," Dartmouth co-captain Megan Wijas '06 said of Matheson. "We didn't play badly and we tried as hard as we could. We just need to score goals."
The team as a whole was disappointed with the loss and the physical play that Princeton displayed. Sara Johnson '07, Dartmouth's team leader in points, was the Big Green's most effective offensive player on the day, but still was not satisfied with her performance. "I felt off on my set pieces," Johnson remarked. "They were pretty rough on me."
Johnson provided Dartmouth's best scoring opportunity off her corner kick at the end of the first half. Johnson's cross was battered around in the middle of the penalty box before squirting out to the right edge of the box where Johnson was running in to rejoin play. She sent a hard, line drive shot to the bottom right corner of the net and forced Princeton goalie Maren Dale to make a diving save, the best stop of the afternoon.
Working hard, Johnson was able to get four shots off on the day and led both teams in the category. Princeton's physicality prevented her from finishing though.
"It was a very physical game. It was typical Princeton," Hind added. "There are definitely a few bruised bodies today."
The Big Green looks to bounce back against Syracuse, a non-conference opponent. Last year, Dartmouth lost 2-1 in overtime against the Orange. Dartmouth realizes the importance of losing to Princeton.
"Today was very frustrating because it's so important to win the Ivy League games," Wijas commented.
The Dartmouth women will host Syracuse at 2 p.m. tomorrow, looking to gather momentum before facing off at Ivy leader Yale on Saturday at 7 p.m.
