With the wind at its back, the Princeton girls soccer team created plenty of scoring chances Tuesday.
The Tigresses put six shots on goal in the first half, had several other shots hit the post or crossbar and had 10 corner kicks.
Princeton managed to convert two of those opportunities and held on in the second half for a 2-1 victory over Mendota in Mendota.
“We were able to find some good passing,” Princeton coach David Gray said. “We made plenty of chances. We hit the post two or three different times. We got behind them quite a bit. We just have to find that finishing touch. We struggle a little bit on turf to be as sharp as we are on grass, on the surface we’re used to. That little bit of lack of sharpness, I think, is what keeps us from hitting some of those chances.”
The Tigresses controlled possession for most of the first 20 minutes and had seven corner kick opportunities during that time.
On its eighth attempt, Princeton found the back of the net.
Junior Chloe Moffitt booted the ball into the box where senior Keighley Davis kicked it in for a 1-0 lead.
“It got kicked about into the middle of the field,” Davis said. “One player missed it and then I just went and kicked it.
“I think we did pretty well (on corner kicks), but I think we still need to get more touches on it and get the first ball there.”
Davis extended the lead to 2-0 with 9:50 left in the first half when she fired a shot off Mendota keeper Ariana Sanchez and trickled just past the goal line.
“I thought it was done,” Davis said about her shot. “I just kept watching and then I saw it cross the line.”
The Tigresses held the 2-0 lead at halftime.
“Some of it was good and some of it was bad,” Davis said about the strong wind. “I think we used most of it to our advantage, but I think we need to slow down a little bit and know if we’re with the wind or against the wind how our kicks (need to be).”
The 2-0 lead was enough for Tigresses as the Princeton defense allowed just one shot on goal, which came with two minutes left in the first half.
The Trojans scored with 4:07 left when Kamilah Preciado blasted a corner kick that deflected off a Princeton defender’s shoulder and into the net.
It was just the second goal scored against Princeton in nine games this season.
“The defense and (goalkeeper) Addie (Dever) are playing great,” Gray said. “I think the four in the back and Addie in goal have made a huge difference, but also our midfielders are doing the defensive work in the midfield, so it’s really been a team effort defensively. You don’t have the defensive record we have with only two goals in nine games without the team defending together well.”
Princeton improved to 9-0 and has outscored its opponents 26-2.
“I think as well as we’ve played and what our record is, there’s still a lot of room for us to grow,” Gray said. “I think we’re going to have to because some of the teams we’re going to have to beat to get where we want to go are going to be really strong.”
Mendota coach Nick Myers said he was pleased to see his team give itself a chance late in the game.
“I thought we did pretty well,” Myers said. “We knew they were really good. The first half I thought we withstood their pressure with them having the wind. They had plenty of opportunities. We had a lot of shots taken on us, but we were able to hold them to two.
“Our girls don’t give up ever. They always fight through every single game. We talked after the game that we only got one shot off, but we had one corner where there’s a fluky mistake and now it’s 2-1 and the game changed with four minutes left. Princeton starts to get a little panicky and our girls get a little momentum. We talked about how you have to keep fighting because you never know.”
The Trojans (3-5-3) scored for the fifth game in a row after scoring just two goals through their first seven games.
“Our first few games, we couldn’t find the back of the net,” Meyers said. “But coming into today, we got a result in six out of our last seven games with either a win or a tie and we’ve scored in five consecutive games. Things are coming together. I think even though it was a loss, a 2-1 loss to Princeton is going to put a lot of confidence in our girls going forward.”