Credit: Seton Hall Women's Soccer
Pirates Fall to the Tigers, 3-1
Published: Friday, August 30, 2024
by Tommy Fee
PRINCETON, NJ - The Seton Hall Pirates played a tough match against the Princeton Tigers, but ultimately fell short 3-1 last night in Princeton, NJ.
The Pirates were able to draw first blood early in the first half. Shortly after trading fouls, the Pirates soon capitalized, as Chiara Pucci scored her second collegiate goal in the ninth minute assisted by sophomore Lily Camacho.
The Pirates maintained enough pressure to force a yellow card for the Tigers’ Kelsee Wozniak. However, the imbalance in yellow cards would conclude for the time being, when Chiara Pucci received one of her own, in the 33rd minute. Three minutes later, the Tigers were able to break through with a goal by Alexandra Barry, assisted by Heather MacNab and Kiley Hamou. The Hall couldn’t rally for a late goal in the first half to break the tie; they were called for an offside in the 39th minute, and could not capitalize on a free-kick attempt in the 44th minute. Pirates’ goalkeeper Anna Prawer was dealt six shots, with one save and one goal allowed. Seton Hall had four total shots in the first half, with one goal allowed and one saved from the Princeton goalkeeper.
Despite the Pirates' ability to maintain pressure on Princeton, the Tigers maintained composure and were able to convert a chance of their own to knot the game up at one apiece by halftime.
Following a corner kick for the Pirates, the Tigers returned with two quick shots on goal, converting on the second in the 61st minute to lead 2-1. The goalscorer was Princeton's Brooke Dawahare, assisted by Alexandra Barry. In the 70th minute, a retaliatory shot by the Pirates’ graduate student Skyler Matsuz missed high, and an unconverted shot attempt from Sophie Liston followed soon after. But things soon took a turn for the worse, as the Pirates sustained two critical yellow and red cards on Brina Michaels (Graduate Student) and Tori Angelo (Freshman) respectively. The Pirates, now severely shorthanded, began to fall out of reach with mounting pressure on their defensive end of the field.
This pressure culminated in another second-half goal from the Tigers by Heather McNab, as the Pirates went down 3-1 in the 86th minute. That final goal was the dagger, rounding out the 90 minutes of play for the Pirates.
Overall, the Tigers showed why they received some votes in the AP Top 25 rankings, with three separate goal scorers, senior Heather MacNab, freshman Brooke Dawahre, and freshman Alexandra Barry. Additionally, the Tigers had a leg up in the playmaking department with three assists to the Pirates one. Towards the end of the game, they were able to crank up the pressure on the Pirate’s defense as a consequence of the red card the Pirates took.
The Pirates' top performers for the game were Chiara Pucci, who scored the Pirates' only goal of the match, and Lily Camacho, who assisted Pucci on her goal. Overall, the Pirates were able to keep an early lead, and had plenty of opportunities to contribute or get their lead back. Their early sparks provided demonstrable upside for the Pirates throughout the match, with total shots, and shots on goal, only truly beginning to slip and immediately turning in Princeton's favor following the Pirates wanting numbers towards the midpoint and closing of the second half.
Looking ahead the Pirates, now at 2-2-1, will now head to Chapel Hill North Carolina on Sunday to play the APs #5 University of North Carolina Program. Looking at the Big East standings, the Pirates will remain in the middle of the pack alongside Providence, St. Johns, and Creighton. Xavier maintains a perfect 5-0 record thus far, and DePaul and Marquette remain at the bottom of the standings sharing a 0-3-1 record.
Tommy Fee can be reached at tommy.fee@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,