Defense key in m. soccer's match-up with Dartmouth

The men's soccer team has been battling it out with other squads for three weeks, but those six games in the bag have been a mere warm-up for what many consider the heart of the season.

Princeton (2-2-2) kicks off its 2003 Ivy League season Sunday at Dartmouth (4-0-2). Winning the Ivy League title not only guarantees the victor bragging rights among the Ancient Eight, but serves as a free ticket to the NCAA tournament.

Both the Tigers and the Big Green know what it feels like to wear the Ivy crown. Dartmouth shared the title with Penn last season, while Princeton and Brown split the honors the year before.

The early-season contest between Princeton and Dartmouth served as a springboard to the league title in many respects for the Big Green.

Coming into the game 0-4 — and not having scored one goal on the season — Dartmouth continued its scoring woes through 90 minutes at Princeton. Luckily for the Big Green, the Tigers had just as difficult a time finding the back of the net, and the game went into overtime. One minute, seven seconds into the extra session, Dartmouth's Rob Daly broke in alone on then-sophomore goaltender Erik White to secure the 1-0 victory for the Big Green.

Dartmouth soared for the rest of the season, climbing out of its 0-4 hole with seven wins out of its final eight games and capping its 2002 campaign with an Ivy League championship.

Undefeated, but invincible?

The Big Green have continued to roll this season, and it is the only unbeaten team remaining in the Ivies.

Dartmouth head coach Jeff Cook gives much of the credit for the Big Green's quick start to its resurgent offense.

"I feel our midfield depth [is] as strong as it's ever been," Cook told the Dartmouth Office of Athletic Communications. "We've found some different ways to produce goals in the preseason, which was our problem early on last year."

Dartmouth's scoring totals have been impressive, as the Big Green have outscored their opponents this season by a margin of 15-5.

Included in that total is Dartmouth's latest outing against St. Bonaventure, in which the team demonstrated its offensive abilities. The Big Green took a slim 1-0 lead into halftime before exploding for five goals in the second half, issuing a warning to opponents never to get complacent.

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In addition to a strong offense, the Big Green also boast a solid defense. While Dartmouth lost its 2002 Ivy League Rookie of the Year goaltender, Doug Carr, to graduation — although a senior, Carr was playing collegiate soccer for the first time — a talented corps of underclassmen netminders have stepped up to the plate to split the duties in goal. Additionally, fifth-year senior Mike Vidmar — an honorable mention All-Ivy player last year — returns to anchor the backfield.

While Princeton usually counts its defense as one of the strongest aspects of the team, defensive lapses last Saturday contributed to the Tigers' 3-0 home loss against Hartwick.

"We're trying not to give away goals against the run of play," head coach Jim Barlow '91 said. "[Saturday was] the third time this year that our opponent has scored a goal on their first shot, which you just can't do. You can't take breaks in the backfield, and on that first goal, though it was a good shot, our backs did a good job getting back and covering. Then, once you're playing from behind you start pressing and you can't control the play."

As has been the case all season, the Tigers will also be searching for a striker to step up. Princeton has scored three goals in its five games this season, a low total even under a stalwart defense.

Given the history of games between the two teams, however, it seems that defense is likely to dominate on both sides of the field.

"Dartmouth is always very organized, they're very good in the air, they're very good on restarts and they're coming into the game with a lot of confidence," Barlow said. "I think it's going to be a typical Princeton-Dartmouth game. Very tight. You need to make the most of any opportunities they give you."