Losing streaks are the biggest test of a team's character. How athletes respond when the chips are down and wins are few and far between stands as testament to their toughness. It is in these times that the most unlikely of stars can emerge to carry his team to victory.
The men's soccer team traveled to Philadelphia to defeat Penn this weekend, 3-1, though it came in sporting a 1-5-1 record in its last seven games. The Tigers had started the season 4-2-2 in their first eight games, including a win over Dartmouth in their Ivy League season opener. But an unsuccessful trip to Brown in early October was the start of a long downward spiral for Princeton. The losing streak culminated with Farleigh Dickinson's dominating 4-1 victory over the Tigers in Teaneck, N.J., on Nov. 2.
On the bright side, the Tigers' swoon included only two losses in league play, 3-1 at Brown and 2-0 at Harvard. The lone win in the seven-game stretch occurred at home against Cornell by a 2-1 score. Also included in the streak was a 0-0 tie at home against Columbia that saw both teams fail to net a goal through regulation and a pair of overtimes.
So Princeton entered this weekend with a mediocre overall record of 5-7-3, but a respectable 2-2-1 mark in the Ivy League. This meant that the Tigers were mathematically eliminated from the race for the Ivy League title, but their hopes for a second place finish were still alive.
This was the motivation as the team trained for its second-to-last game of the regular season on Penn's home field. The Quakers entered Saturday's game with a 1-4 league mark and no hope for a high finish in the Ivy League standings. This seemed like the perfect setup for Penn to play the spoiler role as the rival Tigers desperately fought to save their season.
Ultimately, Princeton's strength prevailed over the Quakers' spunk, and Penn could not pull off the upset. But the story of the game was not the Tigers' improvement in the win column or their chances for a second-place finish in the Ivy League entering the season's final game against Yale next weekend. The spotlight instead was on the emergence of sophomore midfielder Alex Reison.
Reison has seen lots of time in the rotation this season as a starter and off the bench. But despite his increased minutes, the sophomore has been unable to put points on the board all season long, and entering the weekend he was without a goal or assist in any game.
That changed in a hurry Saturday. Reison emerged from the background to lead the Tigers to victory, factoring in on all three Princeton goals as the Tiger offense finally found its legs after a long scoring drought. Reison's two goals and one assist were his first five points of 2003, and he was named Ivy League Player of the Week for his efforts.
Reison's first goal came at 15 minutes, 10 seconds in the first half, giving Princeton an early 1-0 lead. The game was back and forth for the rest of the half, with neither team able to put a goal away. In the second stanza, the stalemate resumed until Reison tallied his second goal of the game at the 56:06 mark, giving Princeton a two-goal lead.
With their backs against the wall, the Quakers responded, getting a goal from freshman Derrick Jumper that shrank the Tigers' lead to 2-1. But just when it seemed the Quakers were back in the game, Reison stepped up yet again, setting up sophomore midfielder Ben Young for a header in the 74th minute that sealed the game for Princeton.
The win improved the Tigers' Ivy League record to 3-2-1 with just one game to play. That game, against Yale, will be played at home next Saturday. The friendly confines of Lourie-Love Field have been kind to Princeton this year, as the team has a 3-1-3 home record on the season, with the loss coming to nationally-rankedHartwick College.
However, the Tigers will be hard-pressed to continue their luck at home when Yale comes to town.
The Bulldogs have a 4-1-1 record in the Ivy League and will be playing for a chance to share the Ivy League title with Brown. The two teams played last weekend to a 1-1 tie, but the Bears' 5-0-1 league record means Brown hold a slight edge and will win the title if they defeat Dartmouth at home.
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