Going into last night's game at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights had dominated the men's soccer team in recent years.
Since 1995, Princeton had gone 0-5-1 against Rutgers and had been beaten soundly the past four years, including a 2-0 defeat at home last season.
And while the Tigers (2-0-1) still were unable to break their winless streak, Princeton showed it could hang with the No. 23-ranked Scarlet Knights (2-1-1), tying Rutgers 1-1 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway.
The Tigers' freshman class once again showed its skill as forward Adrian Melville took a pass from fellow freshman Ryan Rich in the 27th minute and calmly drilled it home to give Princeton a 1-0 lead going into halftime. It was the team-leading third goal of the season for Melville, who has been one of the most potent attackers for the Tigers thus far this season.
Princeton spent much of the game trying to counter the powerful Rutgers attack, sitting back on defense and waiting for the right moment to pounce.
Junior Bob Nye was able to take the ball and start the scoring opportunity for the Tigers by passing it to Rich.
Rutgers would continue to press, however, in the second half. Finally, on a corner kick in the 57th minute, Scarlet Knight Guy Abramson played a short ball which he took back and fired a low shot past Princeton goalie Jason White.
After allowing his first goal of the season, White clamped down and made three saves to keep the game tied.
In the first overtime period both teams played conservatively; however, in the second overtime there were a number of good chances for each team to put the game away.
White was tested first as he went up for a 50/50 ball and lost as the Rutgers player was able to head the ball into the air. Princeton's netminder kept his composure, however, and corralled the ball before the Knights could score the deciding goal.
Then in the closing minute of the game, Rich tried to match his classmate Melville's goal from earlier in the game, but Rutgers goalie J.D. Martin punched the ball over the top of the net to keep the game tied as the final buzzer sounded.
Princeton now travels to Dartmouth with new confidence to start its Ivy League season this Saturday. The game in Hanover, N.H. will start at 1 p.m.
Then the Tigers will return to Princeton on Sept. 29 for another important league matchup, this time against Columbia.
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