Men's soccer shutout by American

The men's soccer team hung with host American for almost the entire first half in yesterday's contest. But a penalty kick for American in the 43rd minute gave the Eagles all they would need for the win, as American beat Princeton (4-4-2 overall, 1-1 Ivy League), 3-0.

American University ended its four-game losing streak, while Princeton lost for the second straight time.

A traditional soccer powerhouse, American has been struggling this season, with a 3-7-1 record entering the game. But what's deceiving about that stat is American has lost each of the seven games by just one goal — including a 2-1 loss to then-No. 1 Maryland in early September.

The Eagles have the game to compete with anyone, as yesterday's commanding win proved.

Princeton was able to stick with the Eagles through much of the first half before committing a foul in the penalty box with only two minutes and change remaining in the half.

Shawn Kuykendall, an explosive offensive player, took the penalty kick and put it past junior goaltender Erik White, sticking it low and just inside the right post.

The first 15 minutes of the second half were as much a stalemate as the first half, though the Eagles reignited the fire in the 60th minute. Princeton's senior midfielder Gianfranco Tripicchio was charged with a yellow card at 61:08, and a minute later American notched its second score when Brett Niebling found Andrew Herman, one of the Patriot League's most talented scorers, streaking down the left side of the field. Herman collected the pass and, from just inside the 18-yard box, blew his shot past White.

American scored its final goal of the game four minutes later, just before the 70th minute, when David Marut scored his first goal of the year, beating White for the third score of the contest.

Princeton's goaltender, who has been solid all season, was pulled after 72 minutes of action, and replaced by sophomore Bobby Guelich.

American was able to exact a bit of revenge in last night's contest, beating the Tigers after Princeton's 3-2 defeat of the Eagles last season. Sophomore forward Darren Spicer scored a goal with five seconds remaining in that contest to give Princeton the win.

There were no heroics of that sort in Wednesday's contest — at least none from a member of the Princeton roster.