Women’s soccer was defeated 4-0 on Friday night by 13th ranked Princeton in the first round of the 2017 Women’s Soccer Tournament.
On Monday, Nov. 6. the first-round matchups were determined during the Tournament selection show, which gave Monmouth the 13th seed and a date with 4th seeded Princeton at Roberts Stadium.
This was Monmouth’s third trip to the tournament since 2013 and second consecutive appearance. It was also their 5th tournament berth in the history of the program.
As for Princeton, it was their second time in three years hosting an National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament first round game. The Tigers looked to improve on their 8-6 all-time record versus Monmouth.
Over 750 people were in attendance for the first-round, 29-degree clash between the 15-4-2 Hawks and the 15-2 Tigers.
The game got off to a quick start in favor of the Tigers as their forward worked around a Monmouth defender at the 18 and found the back of the net to give Princeton the 1-0 advantage in the 6th minute.
Princeton would continue their dominance of the first half in the 21st minute when another forward of theirs took a pass inside the box and ripped it from 16 yards out to extend the lead to 2-0.
The shots advantage for the Tigers was the story of the game as they went into the break with a 13-3 shots advantage. MU looked to increase the offensive pressure in the second half in order to come back from the 2-0 deficit.
It was more of the same in the second half as Monmouth was only able to get another 3 shots off in the next 45.
Then in the 66th minute the Princeton forward got her 2nd goal of the day recovering a loose ball and extending the Tiger lead to 3-0.
Princeton added one more to the scoreboard in the 71st minute off a rebound to cap off the 4-0 victory.
Despite giving up four goals, one of the major shining spots on this team, as she has been all season was sophomore goalkeeper Amanda Knaub. This was Knaub’s 34th consecutive start in goal as she notched 12 saves on the day with Princeton outshooting MU 28-6. Knaub out-saved the Princeton keeper 8-1 on the night.
Despite the season ending loss, Head Coach Krissy Turner was proud of her team’s phenomenal year saying, “We had a great season and while it is not the ending we wanted, the coaching staff is extremely proud of our team.”
Turner also had a special message for her seniors who have used their experience to help lead this team and especially the younger players throughout the season.
“The senior class has changed our program with their attitudes and passion for Monmouth women’s soccer. Their legacy will impact the future of our program and for that they should be very proud.” Turner said.
The Hawks program will look to use this influence to help move forward in the upcoming years with the underclassmen on this team. They hope to continue to lead the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the upcoming years.
PHOTO COURTESY of Monmouth Athletics
