M. soccer needs win, help to make NCAA tournament

It's crunch time. With the postseason looming and one game left, men's soccer (8-4-1 overall, 3-1-2 Ivy League) is hoping to beat Yale and sneak into the playoffs.

Even if the Tigers beat Yale (6-10, 3-3), Brown must also take down Dartmouth for Princeton to win a share of the Ivy League championship. Currently, Dartmouth (6-3-6, 4-0-2) is sitting on top of the league with Princeton and Brown (8-6-2, 4-2-0) tied in a close second. If the Tigers and Bears both win, the three schools would finish their seasons in a three-way tie for the title. Because Princeton has the best record in head-to-head matchups between the three teams, in this situation the Tigers would get the Ivy League's automatic NCAA berth.

"This is what makes Ivy League men's soccer so exciting, that year in and year out it comes down to the final weekend," head coach Jim Barlow '91 said. "For the last couple of weeks, we've been treating each game as if it is a playoff game — you need to win to move on."

Keeping the high stakes of this game in mind, sophomore midfielder Jame Wunsch is fairly confident about the game. "We match up very well this year against Yale," Wunsch said. "They have two very good center midfielders, but it's nothing [senior midfielders] Doug [Hare] or Teddy [van Beuren] won't be able to handle."

Hare and van Beuren have been integral in stopping the flow of the other team's offense throughout the season.

"Doug's coming off a very strong game, as is Teddy, against Penn and so hopefully they'll carry that through our game this weekend," Wunsch added. "Those two guys are going to be key for us to get a win on Saturday."

Last week's shutout win against Penn should give the Tigers some momentum going into the last game of the season. Their defense has been solid all year, and this takes some of the pressure off the offense to score a lot in a game. If Princeton gets on top early, it can have confidence that its defense will shut down the opponent. "I think we need to get the ball to [junior forwards Darren] Spicer and Train [Adrian Melville] earlier and hope that they can put in an early goal for us," Wunsch said.

Yale is an even 3-3 this year in the Ivy League and is currently in fifth place. The Bulldogs will have the home field advantage in this one, but the Tigers think this should not matter to this important matchup.

They do, however, expect a tough game, as so many of their past games have been.

"Every year our game with Yale is a good soccer game," Barlow said. "They are fast, athletic, and combine well going forward. It should be another exciting, fast-paced, back-and-forth game.

"This is why you put so much into the season, into the off-season: to have a chance at the end of the year to advance to the playoffs. We may have that chance, and we are really excited for Saturday."