History does not repeat itself for men's soccer against Dartmouth

For men's soccer, the scene Saturday in Hanover, N.H., was strikingly familiar. For the second consecutive year, Princeton was facing Dartmouth in the Ivy League season opener. For the second consecutive year, the Tigers were going into the game with a zero in their loss column. And for the second consecutive year, senior forward Mike Nugent scored in the early minutes of the first half, giving the Tigers a 1-0 advantage. That, however, was the end of the Tigers' tolerance for repetition.

In 2000 the Big Green were able to stage a comeback, defeating Princeton 3-1 on their way to an Ivy League co-championship. This year, the Tigers (3-0-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) were ready for a change of pace. Princeton took advantage of the overconfident and previously undefeated Big Green (3-1, 0-1) and swept through the game to a 3-0 victory, leaving in their wake a dumbfounded Dartmouth team.

"Dartmouth was coasting," Nugent said. "They had a big win over Wake Forest this season and they were overconfident. They didn't take us seriously and we just played harder."

Nugent led the offensive effort with two goals, bringing his total up to nine points for the season. His first goal of the game came on a shot fired from the 18-yard line at the 17 minute, 58 seconds mark. Senior midfielder Matt Behncke and freshman forward Adrian Melville both recorded an assist on the goal.

While the defense played solidly enough that just one goal would have have been enough for the win, the offense refused to become complacent as the Big Green had. Instead, the Tigers continued with their aggressive play for the length of the contest.

"It was a hard-fought game," senior defender Graeme Rein said. "We were able to keep them [from scoring] long enough to get a goal and then we settled down and made it our business not to give up any goals."

The Tigers used the rough nature of the game to their advantage, scoring their second and third points via penalty kicks.

Ten minutes into the second half, freshman forward Ryan Rich took charge offensively and broke away from the rest of the field. A Big Green defenseman tackled Rich on his way to the goal, resulting in a penalty kick taken by Behncke at the 55:48 mark. It was Behncke's second goal of the season.

Nugent closed out the scoring for the game with another penalty kick, leaving the final score at 3-0. It was Nugent's second two-goal game of the season — his first against Monmouth.

"Nugent is probably the best forward in the league," Rein said. "These are his games to shine. Behncke is a dominant midfielder, probably our best player. He is pretty darn good."

While the offense was accurate, outscoring Dartmouth 3-0 while taking only six shots to Dartmouth's 10, the defense was relentless.

"Scoring early put pressure on them to go forward and then our backs did well containing," Nugent said. "They deserve most of the credit."

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"Offensively we really moved the ball around better than we have been," Melville said. "And the defense was able to shut down the bigger guys. It was one of our more physical games."

Junior goalie Jason White continued to dominate from inside the goal. White achieved his third shutout of the season and recorded eight saves for the match. White has given up only one goal in four games.

The second Ivy League game of the season is Saturday against Columbia at Lourie-Love Field at 5:30. Remembering last year's 1-0 loss, the game is another chance for the Tigers to choose not to repeat the past.