Women's Soccer

Ivies Claim .649 Winning Percentage, Princeton Ranked No. 20

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton and Yale have combined to open the 2017 campaign 12-1-0—with the duo’s lone loss coming to No. 2 Stanford. The Tigers and Bulldogs have also claimed 5-of-6 Ivy League weekly awards this season, with Princeton sophomore forward Courtney O’Brien and Yale freshman forward Ciara Ostrander being named this week’s Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively.  
 
LEAGUE NOTES
  • For the fourth time over the past five years, the Ivy League boasts a .617-or-better winning percentage through 47 games. The Ancient Eight is off to its best start over that span at 29-15-3 (.649).  
  • The Ancient Eight boasts three wins over ranked opponents in 2017. No. 20 Princeton will host No. 6 West Virginia at 4 p.m. Friday, with the match being televised on ESPNU.
  • Princeton is ranked in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll (No. 20, Week 4 – Sept. 12) and Top Drawer Soccer Women’s Division I Top 25 (No. 17, Week 5 – Sept. 11).
  • Princeton (6-0-0) remains unbeaten following its second-straight 6-0-0 start. The Tigers did not allow a goal for 511:57 to open the season—their second-longest streak in program history—before conceding a tally to New Hampshire on Sept. 10.
  • Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Natalie Grossi ranks fifth in the nation with five shutouts, seventh with a .200 goals against average and 12th with a .929 save percentage.
  • Yale (6-1-0) opened the season 6-0-0 for the first time in program history, before suffering its first loss to No. 2 Stanford, 7-0, on Sept. 10. 
  • The depth of the Ancient Eight is apparent this season, with Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard each claiming a 4-2-0 mark behind League leaders Princeton and Yale.
  • Yale junior forward Michelle Alozie paces the League in points (14) and co-leads in goals (5) and assists (4). She is one goal away from matching her career-high in both categories. Alozie ranks among the national leaders in points (14th), goals (22nd) and assists (31st).
  • Through six games, Brown senior forward Mikela Waldman has already doubled her career goal output and set a career-high in points (11). She co-leads the League in goals (5) and ranks second in points (11). 
  • Five matches will be broadcast on the Ivy League Network, which is available on Apple TV and Roku. The network can be found at IvyLeague.TV and IvyLeagueNetwork.com.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, September 13
Quinnipiac at Harvard, 4 p.m. [ILN] [NESN]
 
Thursday, September 14
Brown at UMass, 4 p.m. [A-10 Network]
Penn at Drexel, 7 p.m. [DragonsTV]
 
Friday, September 15
Harvard at Villanova, 4 p.m. [Nova Nation All-Access]
No. 6 West Virginia at No. 20 Princeton, 4 p.m. [ESPNU]
Dartmouth at Northeastern, 6 p.m. [GoNUxstream]
Columbia at Fordham, 7 p.m. [A-10 Network]
Colorado College at Yale, 7 p.m. [ILN]
 
Saturday, September 16
Maine at Cornell, 1 p.m. [ILN]
 
Sunday, September 17
Columbia at Saint Joseph’s, 1 p.m. [A-10 Network]
Harvard at Seton Hall, 1 p.m. [Pirate Sports Network]
Penn at George Mason, 2 p.m. [A-10 Network]
Yale at UMass, 2 p.m. [A-10 Network]
Central Connecticut State at Brown, 3 p.m. [ILN]
Delaware at No. 20 Princeton, 4 p.m. [ILN]
 
KEY
ILN – Broadcast on the Ivy League Network, now available on Apple TV and Roku
A-10 Network – Broadcast on the A-10 Network
DragonsTV – Broadcast on Drexel’s DragonsTV
Nova Nation All-Access – Broadcast on Villanova's Nova Nation All-Access
ESPNU – Broadcast on ESPNU and the WatchESPN App
GoNUxstream – Broadcast on Northeastern’s GONUxstream.com
Pirate Sports Network – Broadcast on Seton Hall’s Pirate Sports Network

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After being held scoreless through 15 appearances—and 367 on-field minutes—across her freshman and sophomore campaigns, Courtney O’Brien erupted for four goals in a 115-minute span this week.
 
The Studio City, Calif., native appeared in all three games in a 3-0-0 week for Princeton, helping the Tigers to their second-straight 6-0-0 start. O’Brien saw 27 minutes of action in a 2-0 win over No. 18 Wake Forest on Sept. 4. The sophomore forward then netted 4-of-5 Princeton goals in victories over Rider, 2-0, on Sept. 7 and New Hampshire, 3-1, on Sept. 10. 
 
For the second-straight year, Princeton, which lasted 511:57 before conceding a goal, opens the season with three-straight Player of the Week selections. O’Brien joins teammates Abby Givens (Aug. 28) and Natalie Grossi (Sept. 4) as this year’s honorees.
 
O’Brien’s Statistics for the Week
1 SH, 1 SOG at Wake Forest
2 G, 8 SH, 3 SOG vs. Rider
2 G, 3 SH, 3 SOG vs. New Hampshire
 
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
A 2016 Girls High School All-American Game participant, Ciara Ostrander netted her first collegiate goal after a 64-goal, 60-assist high school career. The freshman forward has appeared in each of Yale’s seven games thus far, helping the Bulldogs to their first 6-0-0 start in program history and a 6-1-0 mark overall—with the loss coming to No. 2 Stanford.  
 
Entering as a reserve to open the second half, Ostrander slotted home the rebound after a Michelle Alozie shot deflected off the post in the 62nd minute at Hofstra. Ostrander then set up fellow freshman Lydia Shaw for the golden goal in the 107th minute in double-overtime. The Somers, N.Y., native also added a shot in Yale’s 2-0 win at Pacific on Sept. 8 and the Bulldogs 7-0 loss at No. 2 Stanford on Sept. 10. 
 
Ostrander is Yale’s second-straight Rookie of the Week honoree, following fellow 2016 Girls High School All-American Game participant Sarah Jordan (Sept. 4).
 
Ostrander’s Statistics for the Week
1 G, 1 A, 3 SH, 3 SOG at Hofstra
1 SH at Pacific
1 SH, 1 SOG at Stanford
 
HONOR ROLL
Mikela Waldman, Brown (Sr., F – San Francisco, Calif.)
2 SH, 1 SOG vs. Providence
1 G, 1 A, 3 SH, 2 SOG vs. Lafayette
 
Star White, Brown (Fr., F – Norfolk, Va.)
1 G, 3 SH, 2 SOG vs. Providence
1 A, 3 SH vs. Lafayette
 
Emma Anderson, Columbia (Jr., F – Bethesda, Md.)
3 SH vs. Stony Brook
2 G, 4 SH, 3 SOG vs. Sacred Heart
 
Kennedy Yearby, Cornell (So., F – Syracuse, N.Y.)
1 G, 1 SH, 1 SOG at Buffalo
1 GP vs. Binghamton
 
Bianca Ribi, Dartmouth (Sr., F – Calgary, Alberta)
2 A, 1 SH at Albany
2 G, 5 SH, 2 SOG vs. Quinnipiac
 
Leah Mohammadi, Harvard (Jr., M – Upland, Calif.)
1 G, 2 SH, 1 SOG vs. Boston College
7 SH, 3 SOG at Syracuse
 
Carolyne Davidson, Princeton (Fr., M – Orlando, Fla.)
1 GP at Wake Forest
1 SH vs. Rider
1 G, 2 SH, 2 SOG vs. New Hampshire
 
Michelle Alozie, Yale (Jr., F – Apple Valley, Calif.)
2 A, 8 SH, 3 SOG at Hofstra
2 G, 7 SH, 4 SOG at Pacific
1 SH at Stanford