Men's soccer heads to Brown for its second Ivy game

The men's soccer team has been making its living lately on last-second thrills. Last weekend a pair of late goals from freshman Kyle McHugh, including the game-winner in overtime, gave the Tigers a win over Dartmouth. Then on Wednesday a goal by another freshman, Jame Wunsch, gave Princeton a win over Adelphi in the 89th minute.

The Tigers will be looking for more late-game heroics this weekend, when they travel to Brown in their second Ivy League game of the season. Princeton (4-2-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) will look to extend its winning streak to three games against the powerful Bears (5-3, 1-0).

Last weekend the No. 15 Bears opened their season with a trip to Columbia, where a game-winning goal by senior captain Adom Crew 52 seconds into a second overtime gave Brown the win.

Crew is hands-down the leader of the Bears' team. He has racked up 38 points in 44 games in his career and last year was tied for fourth in the nation in goals and fifth in total points when he went down with an injury and missed the season's final nine games. He still tied for the Ivy League lead in goals and was second in points despite missing over half the season.

Crew is back at full strength this year and will look to create goal scoring opportunities from his striker position. He will get some help from sophomore midfielder Ibrahim Diane, an exciting player who dazzles with his speed and foot skills. But the Brown scorers could have trouble against the stingy Princeton defense, and the game likely will turn on one or two goals.

Defensively the Bears are solid, led by junior defender Jeff Larentowicz, a second team All-Ivy selection last year. Goalie Christopher Gomez, a junior, led the league in saves last year and posted three shutouts to finish with a 5-5-3 overall record. Brown will count on Gomez to shut down Princeton's scorers and keep the game close.

Ivy League games tend to be defensive struggles decided on clutch goals in the dying moments of games or in overtime, and this game sets up as no exception. The Tigers have been a solid defensive team all season, led by senior center back Jeff Hare, a two-time All Ivy first teamer, and junior goalie Erik White, who follows in the footsteps of older brother Jason, arguably the best goalkeeper in Princeton history.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, however, defensive letdowns in the second half led to blown leads against both Dartmouth and Adelphi. To their credit, however, in both games the Tigers kept fighting and came up with another goal to win the game.

The offensive stars for the Tigers change from game to game, as scoring has come from sophomore Darren Spicer, who leads the team with three goals, and the freshman McHugh. Wunsch has also come up from his position as a defensive fullback to score two game-winning goals. Princeton will need one of these scorers to step up and beat Brown's defense for a timely goal or two if the Tigers hope to move to 2-0 in league play.

Last year, the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie on Princeton's home turf, Lourie-Love Field. A goal from midfielderr Ryan Rich, then a sophomore, gave the Tigers their only score of the game. Princeton held its lead for slightly over ten minutes, when Brown tied it up on a goal by senior Evan Ryan. Gomez was the player of the game, thwarting Princeton's attack with 10 saves.

That game was one of eight overtime contests the Tigers played last year. It was a frustrating season for Princeton, as the team often played well enough to earn victories but couldn't put away goals at the end of games or in overtime to earn victories. But this season Princeton scorers have shown a greater flair for the dramatic, led by the two freshmen McHugh and Wunsch.

Princeton will need to play its tough, defensively-led game against the Bears. If they can limit the touches of senior sniper Crew and get a goal or two out of the offense, the Tigers might leave Providence with another W.