Men's soccer loses season opener on late goal

For 89 seconds, it appeared the men's soccer team would need more than 90 minutes to decide its season opener Friday night at Lourie-Love field.

After giving up a goal just before halftime, Princeton had spent the entire second relentlessly attacking the Loyola goal. And with just under 10 minutes to play, senior forward Adrian Melville provided the equalizer, redirecting a long cross from senior midfielder Darren Spicer into the corner of the net.

But just one minute, 29 seconds later, the Greyhounds reclaimed their lead when Brian O'Connor's right-footed shot from the top of the box skidded past senior goalie Bobby Guelich into the bottom right corner of the Tigers' net. Princeton could not convert on several desperation chances in the closing minutes, allowing Loyola to escape with the 2-1 victory.

"We had gotten control of the game and then we gave away a goal, which makes it unfortunate" head coach Jim Barlow said. "We gave up two goals on random plays we just didn't deal with well."

Early on, the Greyhounds completely controlled the flow of play, keeping Guelich busy by taking the first four shots of the game. He had to make a diving save at the 20 minute mark, when it briefly looked as if the Loyola free kick might hook into the right corner of the net.

"We had a hard time finding our rhythm," Barlow said. "It took us 30 minutes to get going."

Barlow blamed the Tigers' early struggles on their inability to control the ball at midfield, leaving them on the defensive for much of the half. He credited junior midfielder Zach Schwarz, who entered the game for Melville at the 25-minute mark, with improving Princeton's ability to maintain possessions.

The Tigers had their first real opportunity in the 30th minute, drawing a foul just beyond the top of the box. Spicer took a shot on the ensuing free kick, but a Loyola player knocked the ball down before it got anywhere near the goal.

Loyola broke the scoreless tie with exactly seven minutes left in the half thanks to a spectacular goal off the foot of forward Vinne Piscapo. After a foul on Princeton gave Loyola a restart near midfield, defender Gabe Ortega arched a long pass down the left side. Piscapo adeptly used his body to wall off his defender and receive the ball on the left side of the box. Two strides later, with his momentum taking him away from the goal, he blasted a left-footed shot that seemed to take Guelich by surprise, deflecting high off his finger tips into the top right corner of the net.

The Tigers had three chances in front of the net in the final five minutes before the break, but could not convert any of them, including a failed bicycle kick that triggered a brief shoving match between several players from each side.

Princeton's attack continued to put pressure on Loyola in the second half, and twice the Tigers just missed knotting the game at one. In the 53rd minute, Loyola goalie Justin Chelland barely deflected a Spicer free kick over the top of the goal. Later, in the 78th minute, senior midfielder Alex Reison got his head on the ball in front of the goal off a corner kick, but his redirect attempt went wide, eliciting loud groans from the Princeton coaching staff.

Less than minute later, the Tigers finally did tie the game. Spicer outraced his defender to receive a long pass down the right side and, with a step on his man, launched an unobstructed cross to the left corner of the goal. Melville, who had reentered earlier in the half, got his left foot on it and easily knocked it in.

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But as Barlow would ruefully point out afterward, goals often follow goals — and one did —making the Orange and Black's high spirits short-lived. O'Connor's goal came with 9:26 left to play and was unassisted, launched from outside the box off a seemingly broken play. The ball skipped past Guelich, who appeared to have a chance at making the save.

"Bobby's doing well, but I'm sure he's not happy with either of those goals," Barlow said. "Usually he makes those plays."

With an extra forward on for the final 10 minutes, the Tigers created several more scoring chances. Princeton launched several threatening corner kicks in front of the net, but struggled to get a head on the ball. A final breakaway by Spicer down the left side in the 88th minute also looked promising, but a Loyola slide tackle killed the chance.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing opener for the Tigers, who played much of the game as if working of their rust from a long off-season.

"We don't have our legs yet. We've got to be able to keep our shape for 90 minutes," Barlow said. "We looked like a team that hasn't been together for long.