Bob Nye stepped onto the field with the rest of the freshmen, all prepared to begin their first Princeton practice alone. The men's soccer team had flown back from a rugged preseason trip through England the night before — which the freshmen could not go on — and had the day off to recover.
So Nye was astonished when he saw every senior trotting onto the field.
As the season progressed last year it was the seniors, led by Chad Adams '00 and Griff Behncke '00 who turned a mediocre team into an Ivy champion. Nye and Adams would talk after games, the freshman soaking in the senior's descriptions of how hard things had been.
"It was unavoidable not to get caught up," Nye said. "Unavoidable winning."
Now Adams and Behncke are gone.
And in the first half against William and Mary Sunday, Nye was worried. It was the final game of the Stihl tournament at Old Dominion, in front of a sparse crowd. They were tired, after winning, 2-1, against the Monarchs Friday night and sleeping in hotels for two days. Their legs hurt. And they were trailing, 1-0, after only three minutes.
Finding the fire
This was the kind of game the Tigers would have lost two years ago. The kind they might start losing again — already they had talked about sagging in practice and how to recapture the intensity from last year.
But then junior forward Mike Nugent gathered in a header from senior co-captain Kevin Griffin, rolled it down his body and sent it spinning into the goal. In an instant, the questions disappeared.
"Nobody was wondering whether we would score," Nye said.
Less than five minutes later, Nugent darted around his defender and drove the ball past the dive of Tribe goalie Billy Platz. The Tigers would not trail again.
Nye and the defense would smother a furious William and Mary attack in the game's final minutes, holding on for the 2-1 win and the tournament victory. The Tigers (3-0) are now undefeated to start the season.
Slowly, as the wins start piling up, the self-doubts are sliding away.
"It had been a long weekend," Nye said. "We might not have it in us. But the team definitely showed a drive and an ability to come back that some people might not have thought we had at the beginning of the year."
They were just as tired as they would have been in years past. But now the Tigers can twist their team strategies to accommodate changing mental and physical states.
Tired? Snatch a fast lead and then stay on defense to preserve energy. Frustrated on offense? Remain calm and convert the few opportunities you are given. Want to go home? Win efficiently in regulation to make the seven-plus hour ride home easier.
But the Tigers were not entirely satisfied with the performance.
"I would say we were a little slow, but obviously Mike Nugent played really well and our defense held them out at the end," junior co-captain Graeme Rein said. "I thought we could have played a little better."
Princeton was outshot 10-4 and awarded only three corner kicks to the Tribe's seven.
Quick scores
On Friday, junior Matt Behncke slammed home both Princeton goals, first staking the Tigers a quick 1-0 lead. After the Monarchs knotted the score at one, he scored again to push Princeton ahead at 63:39. It was his second straight two-goal game.
The alternating stellar performances by Behncke and Nugent hinted at what may become the theme of the season — a rotating cast of stars.
"Different kids are taking over different spurts of the game," Nye said. "Other guys are stepping up. A number of guys are doing that.
"We're 3-0 to start the season, which is obviously right where we want to be. But there's a lot of room for improvement. We all know that and see it only getting better from here. We definitely haven't put forth our best soccer."
But the marathon ride back from Virginia was strangely peaceful.
"If guys aren't killing each other by the end," Nye said, "you know something's good."
Good times are here again.
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