Experienced Tigers to seek Ivy title, redemption after subpar season

The cards look good this year for the "Magnificent Seven" of men's soccer, though at the end of last season they must have felt that they'd been dealt a rough hand.

The seven seniors, given their nickname for being one of the nation's best soccer recruiting classes, helped achieve an outright Ivy League title in 1999 and seemed primed in 2000 for a repeat performance. For a while, things were right on track. The team started off the season with four consecutive wins, but then, plagued by injuries and haunted by single-goal losses, the Tigers' vision fell apart in front of them. They finished sixth in the Ivy League (9-7-1 overall, 2-5 Ivy League).

Since then, determination has been added to talent as the seven seniors size up their last chance to leave their mark on Princeton soccer.

The Tigers will be fighting for every advantage they can get, but the team starts off the season with something up its sleeve — not just one ace, but two: defense and experience. More than just forbidding, Princeton's defense is almost impenetrable. The veteran trio of senior two-year captain Graeme Rein, junior Bob Nye and sophomore Jeff Hare surrendered just nine goals throughout the Ivy League season last year. Rein and Nye were rewarded with positions on the All-Ivy Second Team and Hare was named All-Ivy Honorable Mention.

Should anyone get past the first layer of defense, the play is still far from over. The last man in line — junior goalie Jason White, a three-year starter — is a formidable opponent for any striker. White followed up his freshman year, during which he recorded a Princeton record-tying eight shutouts and was named to Soccer America's all-freshman team, with another five shutouts and a goals-against average of 1.01 in 2000.

"We're returning our whole defense and White is one of the best goalies in the country," head coach Jim Barlow '91 said. "Nye, Hare and Rein are in front on defense and we're also really strong on back."

Experience is also on the Tigers' side. In addition to returning seven seniors, Princeton also returns six of the seven players who earned All-Ivy recognition last season: senior forward Mike Nugent, senior midfielder Matt Behncke, Nye, Rein, Hare and White. Forward Matt Striebel '01 was the only All-Ivy player lost to graduation.

Behncke and Nugent will be called on to continue leading the offense. Behncke, who was named to the All-Ivy First Team and was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1998, led the Tigers in scoring last year with 15 points (six goals, three assists).

Nugent should be a renewed force. The Tiger was leading the Ivy League in scoring after the first nine games of the season and finished the year with seven goals and Second Team All-Ivy recognition despite an injury that forced him to sit out the second half of the season.

"We're doing things differently this year," Behncke said. "We're playing three up front and three in midfield. We're creating a lot more chances around goal."

"The offense has potential, but it is too early to tell how the freshmen will adjust," Barlow said. "We have a deep group of forwards, we just have to find the right chemistry. We're deeper than we were last year so there will be more competition for spots."

Princeton tested its mettle against Monmouth in its first match of the season — and came out untouched, while the Hawks were forced to stomach a 5-0 defeat. As expected, experience, in the shape of Nugent, who scored two goals, and Behncke, who had one, led the team.

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The freshmen also made themselves known, as forwards Adrian Melville and Ryan Rich scored a goal apiece. The defense held up its end of the deal, allowing no goals. White contributed to the effort with five saves. Despite the win, the team is guarded in its enthusiasm.

"We're cautiously optimistic," Behncke said. "It was great to win 5-0, but we also realize that Monmouth is not the caliber of opponent we're going to have in the Ivy League."

"We had a good start, especially in the first half," Barlow said. "We had lots of good goals. We have to be able to create chances, and we're not moving the ball that well. There's not a lot of time to fix these issues."

In fact, the Tigers' first game is tonight against Farleigh Dickinson. In addition, Princeton has one of its toughest schedules in years, which includes Indiana, Maryland, Seton Hall and Rutgers, all of whom are expected to finish among the nation's best.

As far as Ivy League play goes, coach Barlow expects Yale, Brown and Dartmouth to be the stiffest competition. The Bears ended the season at the top of the Ivy standings last year with a perfect 7-0 record, and the Big Green were close behind at 5-2.

The Tigers need to be at their best from the beginning of the Ivy schedule — their first competition is Sept. 22 against Dartmouth.

"We're going to find out right away how things are going to look for us this year," Behncke said.

For the "Magnificent Seven" it is now or never.

Saturday, May 10

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