Men's soccer beats Cornell, but drops two games to in-state rivals

For most Princeton students, Fall Break is a time to relax and enjoy a few stress-free days after the hard work that accompanies midterm week. But for the student athletes on the men's soccer team, Fall Break was anything but relaxing. The Tigers endured the toughest three game stretch of their season while their classmates were enjoying their vacations. Princeton finished their gut check week with a 1-2-0 record.

The win came in Princeton's sole Ivy League contest of the week, a home match with rival Cornell with a score of 2-1. The two losses were to Rutgers, 3-1, and Farleigh Dickinson, 4-1, non-league opponents but tough games nonetheless. As the week came to an end for Princeton however, the worst blow was not either of the two losses but the sobering realization that their overall record had dipped to 5-7-3. After Brown's 1-0 defeat of Yale on Saturday to stay undefeated atop the Ivy League, Princeton, with a 2-2-1 league mark, was officially eliminated from contention for the Ivy League title.

The Tigers have just two Ivy League games left, and wins over both Penn and Yale would be sweet ending notes for a long season but not nearly enough to overtake Brown for the league title. The Bears, led by senior captain Adom Crew and his league leading eight goals, are ranked 11th in the nation and sport a 5-0-0 mark in the Ivy League.

One of those five wins came against Princeton, who traveled to Providence in early October coming off an overtime victory over Dartmouth that opened its league season with a bang. The Tigers were looking to start an Ivy championship run on Brown's home field, but it was not to be. The Bears won by a 3-1 count and launched their own title quest, which may end this Saturday on Yale's home field as Brown plays with a chance to clinch the Ivy crown.

Princeton also has an upcoming date with Yale, on Nov. 15 at home to finish their season. But unlike Brown, the Tigers won't play that game with a championship on the line. That chance has come and gone for this season.

The team's trouble started with their loss to Brown, which started a 0-4-1 skid that also included a loss at Harvard and a nil-nil tie at home with Columbia. It was this winless streak that knocked the Tigers out of contention, and on display throughout was an epidemic that has plagued them in recent seasons — a lack of offensive punch.

Princeton plays a ball control, possession style game where defense is physical and goals are few and far between. In the Ivy League this is a popular way to play, and games are typically low scoring. But the best teams are able to find a way to put in a goal or two, and the Tigers just haven't been able to get it done. In their 0-4-1 streak they managed just two goals in five games, one in the loss to Brown and the other in a 3-1 loss to Rutgers last Tuesday.

Unfortunately for Princeton, the scoring drought coincided with Ivy games against Harvard and Columbia. The Tigers escaped somehow against Columbia with a 0-0 tie at home, but at Harvard it was a different story, as they fell by a 2-0 score to drop to 1-2-1 in the Ivy League.

The Tigers had depth and experience at every position coming into the season except the forward position. The starters there, freshman Kyle McHugh and sophomore Darren Spicer, have provided some thrills with clutch goals in their brief careers but are still young in collegiate experience.

Coach Jim Barlow '91 said before the season, "We are still looking for guys to step up in front and be consistent goal scorers."

Depth at the midfield and back positions previously were team strengths. There have been games where the forwards have stepped up to Barlow's standard, but in the most important Ivy games, the goals just didn't come. So Princeton has no shot at winning the title for the second consecutive year, but the team graduates severl seniors in 2004, most notably center back Jeff Hare.

There are several high points from this season to use as building blocks for next year's success, however, freshmen Jame Wunsch and Neil Chaudhuri gained experience and contributed a scattered goal or assist, while McHugh scored a pair of late goals to earn the win in overtime at Dartmouth.