Perfect season ends as men's soccer tripped up by Maryland

In a physical battle between the Terps and Tigers, a questionable call early in the second half put the Tigers at a disadvantage they couldn't overcome.

In only the second meeting between the two schools, Maryland (3-3-1) got the early jump on Princeton (3-1-2 overall, 2-0-1 Ivy League) with a goal from the right side by Wes Kirk on a high cross from Sumed Ibrahim at 16 minutes, 49 seconds in the first half.

The score remained 1-0 until Ibrahim got his second assist, this one a cross to center leading to a goal by Siba Mohammed.

Five minutes later, Princeton got its game going as freshman Adrian Melville deflected a high pass from Ryan Rich past Terp goalkeeper Noah Palmer.

Princeton looked poised to even the score when one play changed the course of the game. One minute and six seconds after Melville's score, sophomore defender Jeff Hare and a Maryland forward collided going after a loose ball roughly 40 yards from Princeton's goal. Though both players arrived at the ball at roughly the same time, Hare received a red card and was ejected from the game. Earlier in the game, Hare had received a yellow card.

Princeton received three yellow cards in the game, the first given to senior defender Graeme Rein just 53 seconds into the game. Maryland had just one yellow card, given to Becket Hollenbach.

With Princeton playing a man down, Maryland ran off three-straight goals to put the game out of reach. With most of the starters pulled late in the game, Melville got his second goal off an assist from senior Mike Nugent. Maryland 5 Princeton 2 12F P022 M145 Scoring - M - Kirk, Mohammed, Ibrahim, Sjolund, Dello-Russo. P - Melville 2. Shots on Goal - M 17, P 7. Saves - Noah Palmer (M) 2, Jason White (P) 5. Corner Kicks - M 4, P 7. Fouls - M 18, P 15. Attendance - 778.