Two straight wins for men's soccer brighten dim season

The men's soccer team's season had been a disappointment so far. Gone were the Tigers' chances for a repeat as Ivy League champs. Gone were their chances for an NCAA berth.

But that didn't mean the Tigers weren't out to prove they could still win.

...Princeton was intent on finishing its season on a high note and did so by winning two out of its final three games during the break.

Princeton (9-6-1 overall, 2-4-0 Ivy League) played its last home game of the regular season Saturday night at Lourie-Love Field against visiting Penn (5-10-1, 0-5-0). The Tigers recorded their second Ivy win of the year against the Quakers in a rough 2-0 victory.

A week earlier, Princeton traveled to Cornell to face the Big Red (7-8-0, 3-3-0) in its other Ivy League matchup of the break. Having come off a dominating 3-0 victory a week earlier against Harvard, the Tigers again dominated their opponents for two halves. Cornell, however, snuck in a goal in overtime for the 1-0 win.

The Tigers also played a non-league game against Adelphi the following Tuesday. Princeton rebounded from the tough Cornell loss to win, 2-1, over the Panthers.

The seniors final home matchup against Penn on Saturday was an emotional game on many levels.

"They're one of our biggest rivals," senior forward Kevin Griffin said. "It's always pretty physical."

The seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony, but the finality of that ceremony did not carry over into their play.

"I thought about how this was my last home game," Griffin said. "But once that whistle starts, you concentrate on what's on the field."

The Quakers, who haven't won a league match all season, hoped to make up for what they lacked in skill by playing rough soccer. If they could get an early goal, Penn could then sit back on defense and try to preserve the lead.

The Quakers' plan, however, did not work as Princeton struck first to take the lead. Eleven minutes, 21 seconds into the game, senior forward Matt Striebel scored off a pass from sophomore forward Matt Douglas to give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage going into halftime.

Finishing the competition

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The Tigers knew all they had to do to seal the win was come out in the second half and get another goal.

That opportunity was gift-wrapped and handed to Princeton after a Penn foul right in front of their own goal gave the Tigers a penalty kick. Junior midfielder Matt Behncke took the free kick and fired the ball past Quaker keeper Jeff Groeber for his sixth goal of the season. After that, Penn was finished.

One week earlier at Cornell, the Tigers were not so fortunate in getting an early goal. Scoring opportunities ended with shots hitting the post in a game in which the Tigers' ball just couldn't get a lucky bounce.

"Our performance overall was I think one of our best of the year," Griffin said. "I felt that we totally deserved to win out there."

In overtime, however, the Big Red counterattacked after a Princeton drive to the goal. The streaking Cornell players put together a few quick passes and then sent a ball through to forward Rick Stimpson. The senior beat sophomore goalkeeper Jason White — who had 11 saves on the evening — to give the Big Red a sudden death win.