Despite poor play, men's soccer comes away with tie

Strong defense has been the key to the men's soccer team's success all season, and Saturday's game against American University proved just how important ball control and mistake-free play can be for Princeton.

Ranked 17th in the country, and undefeated since Oct. 6, Princeton (5-2-4 overall, 2-1-1 Ivy League) was riding its recent success straight into Saturday's game against American (5-6-1) at Reeves stadium in Washington, D.C. This left Princeton vulnerable for a surprise by the Eagles, as only a late Princeton goal saved the Tigers from a loss and forced the game into a tie at 3-3.

The game began just as the Tigers had hoped. Seven minutes and 10 seconds into the first half, senior forward Mike Nugent deflected a pass from the American sweeper and then drove the ball over the goalie's head into the back of the goal, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. Usually for the Tigers, a quick goal is all they need for a win. Princeton wins almost every game in which they score the first goal, and the team did not expect American to pose much of a threat.

"After we scored early, we thought we would just cruise through the game. After looking at American's record, we thought that they would just crumble after my early goal, but I guess they didn't," Nugent said.

With the early lead and the intention of protecting it, Princeton wanted to drop back and play a more defensive game. But Princeton was not able to hold its lead, as sloppy ball movement by Princeton led to a steal by the Eagles. American drove the ball up the field through precision passing. With 19 minutes remaining in the first half, Eagle forward Jonathon Colton crossed the ball to teammate Andrew Herman, who was waiting for the ball at the center of the 18-yard box. Herman then scored his first of three goals on the day.

"They probably had the best ball movement of any team we played all season. They completely outplayed us in ever facet of the game," Nugent said.

Three minutes later, Herman made his way downfield and found himself one-on-one against junior goalie Jason White once again. Herman capitalized on a Princeton mistake, making the score 2-1, in favor of American.

The Tigers were able to hold off Herman and the aggressive American University attack for the rest of the half, but the damage had been done. Princeton had put itself back into its weakest position, playing from behind.

"We definitely had problems stopping them, but the blame does not fall solely on the defense. It was a team defensive let-down which allowed Herman to score three goals. Our team defense starts from the forwards and works down the field from us," Nugent said.

Unlike other games this season, Princeton made an aggressive comeback, which started at the beginning of the second half. Ten minutes into the half, freshman midfielder Teddy Van Beuren crossed the ball from the left side to sophomore midfielder Marty Shaw, who tied the game at two.

With 23 minutes left, Herman again found an opening in the Princeton defense. Similar to Nugent's goal, Herman deflected a pass deep in the Princeton zone, and again was all alone against White. Herman then scored his third goal of the game, giving American the 3-2 advantage.

On the verge of their third loss of the season, the Tigers began to press. In the last 10 minutes of regulation, Princeton started to gain momentum. The team appeared to finally feel the urgency of the situation.

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With a little more than three minutes remaining in the game, senior midfielder Matt Behncke received the ball 25 yards out from American's goal. Behncke turned and kicked a left-footed shot high into the upper-right corner of the Eagles' net, tying the game at 3-3. With the score tied at the end of regulation, the game went into 15-minute overtime periods.

In the overtime, however, White took over and saved the game for the Tigers, making several point-blank saves, three of which came in the second overtime. Herman had an excellent chance to score his fourth goal of the game, but he was unable to find a way past White.

"Coach Barlow said to us after the game, 'I can't remember a game being this outplayed and not losing,' " Nugent said.