Penn Secures 1-0 Victory Over Princeton Women's Soccer

Princeton, now standing at 5-5-1 overall and 1-2 in the Ivy League, outshot Penn 19-9, with a notable 7-1 edge in shots on goal. Despite this advantage, Penn goalkeeper Ria Desai delivered a stellar performance, making seven saves to keep Princeton scoreless.

The match continued the trend of close contests between the teams; nine of the last twelve meetings had ended 1-0, with Princeton previously winning the last three, holding an unbeaten streak against Penn since 2014.

Princeton had a promising start when Zoe Markesini’s sixth-minute shot hit the crossbar. Nina Cantor followed up with her effort saved by Desai in the 15th minute. As the first half progressed, Dylan Jovanovic forced another save from Desai in the 43rd minute, shortly before Alexandra Barry struck the left post.

Princeton maintained its offensive pressure after halftime, recording four shots on goal between the 51st and 62nd minutes from Maddie Recupero, Jovanovic, Blane McElroy, and Barry. Jovanovic again challenged Desai with a shot in the 76th minute, but the score remained knotted at zero.

The breakthrough finally came in the 88th minute when Mia Fuss delivered a cross to the far post, where Abbey Cook netted her fifth goal of the season. Jovanovic led Princeton with four shots, three of which were on target. Markesini, Recupero, Stella Monberg, and Barry each contributed three shots. Sydney Romano started as the goalkeeper for the first half before Cecilia Cerone took over in the second.

With this victory, Penn improved to a record of 6-4-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the Ivy League. Princeton's next game will be on Saturday, Oct. 17, as they face Cornell at 1 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.