Men's soccer plays to scoreless draw against No. 16 Loyola

Sometimes you only get one chance. For men's soccer last night, that chance lasted 45 minutes. For the entire first half of the Tigers' game against Loyola, the momentum was decidedly in their favor. While Princeton began the game looking like the dominant force, the Tigers ended the game feeling lucky to walk away with a tie, 0-0, in what became a battle of the defenses.

The Tigers controlled the game through the first half. They kept the Greyhounds constantly on defense, forcing retreat after retreat, and leaving Loyola offensively helpless. It seemed only a matter of time before the ball would connect with the Loyola net, giving the Tigers the advantage of having scored the first goal, an advantage no opposing team has been able to overcome this season. But that goal never came. The Greyhounds succeeded in fighting off multiple attacks in what seemed, for the first 45 minutes of the game, to be a one-sided battle.

After halftime, the tables quickly, and irreversibly, turned, putting the Tiger defense to the test and the team's efforts to score on hold throughout the majority of the second half and overtime.

The Princeton defense rose to the challenge. Junior goalkeeper Jason White recorded five saves for the night and his sixth shutout of the season.

"Jason White saved us," senior midfielder Matt Behncke said. "He saved us a couple of times."

White also had help on a few key saves in the second half and overtime. The Greyhounds almost hit the mark with 33 minutes, 11 seconds on the clock in the second half. Senior defenseman Graeme Rein came to White's aid, deflecting a shot made by Loyola's Miguel Abreu on a breakaway. Rein's save allowed junior goalkeeper Jason White a crucial few extra seconds to adjust his position and block the Greyhound's next shot.

Sophomore midfielder Marty Shaw also jumped in on the defensive effort, catching a ball in the goal with 2:32 on the clock in the first overtime.

The Tigers had a final chance to walk away the winners late in the second overtime. With 49 seconds left in the game, senior forward Mike Nugent brought the ball in from the corner and a teammate headed the ball. The shot just missed its mark, going slightly high, and the game ended scoreless.

"We played well in the first half," Behncke said. "We had them in front of their goal and had a lot of pressure on them. We were moving the ball well. Then in the second half they did the same to us. In overtime I think both teams were tired, neither of us were able to put it away."

Loyola (10-1-2, 6-0-0) went into the game ranked No. 16 in the collegesoccer.com media poll, just one spot ahead of the Tigers (5-2-3 overall, 2-1-1 Ivy League).

"In the first half we had them on the ropes," White said. "But then we didn't get a goal. In the second half and overtime, we didn't play as well as we wanted to. This is not a good tie, we could have beat them, but we will take it."