Melville, Spicer lead men's soccer attack

For the Princeton men's soccer team, the number three is ubiquitous. Three is the number of goals scored by senior forward Adrian Melville, accounting for all of the Tigers' scores thus far. Three is the number on the back of senior forward Darren Spicer's jersey, Ivy League Player of the Year in 2004. And three is the number of Ivy League championships head coach Jim Barlow '91hopes he will have won by the end of this year.

There is no prize for second place, and no one knows this better than Barlow. The Tigers (1-1 overall), having won the Ivy title twice in the last 10 years under Barlow's direction, found themselves in a tie for second with Yale and Brown at the end of last season. It was Dartmouth (0-1-2), who had finished eighth the year before, that walked away with the outright Ivy crown. This year, Barlow and the Princeton squad look to improve on an 8-5-4 season and return to the top of the pack.

But getting there requires experience, and Barlow has found no better answer than his seniors.

"They know how to prepare for big games and how to motivate the team to compete every day in training," Barlow said.

Spicer is the team captain, and he didn't earn Player of the Year by chewing sunflower seeds on the sideline. A voracious scorer, the California native knocked through 12 goals last season, raking in a team-leading 25 total points including a hat trick against Wofford. Barlow recognizes the positive impact of the captain on the team's other members.

"He puts everything he has into every session, and his ability to continuously raise his level of effort and play has earned him the respect of his teammates," Barlow said.

Spicer is not the only senior making his presence felt. Adrian Melville is currently the team's only scorer with three goals, half of his total for all of last year. His first two goals of the season were set up by passes from Spicer and senior defenseman Alex Reison. Melville, who missed out on the 2003 season, has thus far provided the accurate shooting that Barlow has been looking for.

On the other side of the ball, Princeton is looking at a rather different situation. Holding down the fort this year is senior goalkeeper Bobby Guelich. For the past two years, Guelich has backed up graduated Erik White '05, seeing limited action. Barlow has given Guelich the nod this year, and in the recent game at American University, Guelich rose to the occasion with five saves, allowing only one score.

Yet Guelich will need to be on his toes this Sunday as the Tigers face a frightening Akron (5-0) squad. No. 9 nationally-ranked Akron overpowered Princeton, 6-0, in last year's contest, and the Zips are fresh off a hammering of Cleveland State, during which they found the net 12 times. The Tigers will be forced to find a solution for stopping Akron's Geir Nyheim, who scored three times. Equally intimidating is the Akron defense, which has allowed only two goals so far this season.

The ensuing Sunday matchup against No. 7 Fairleigh Dickinson (4-0) won't be any easier. After handing Fairleigh Dickinson a 2-0 loss last year in Philadelphia, the Tigers will face the Knights on home turf this Sunday at Lourie-Love field as part of the Princeton Invitational.

"We are excited to have the chance to play two teams currently ranked in the top 10 on our home field, and we always want to challenge ourselves against the best in the country," Barlow said.

If a challenge is what Barlow is looking for in these two teams, that's exactly what he'll find. FDU is currently ranked first in soccer's Middle Atlantic region. Barlow knows not to underestimate these two opponents.

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"They are organized, athletic and dangerous in the attack," Barlow said. The two matches this weekend promise to be strenuous early tests for Princeton, and the coach stressed the importance of these games as vital preparation for the upcoming Ivy season.

As in previous seasons, this year's pursuit of the Ivy title is expected to be hotly contested, with the Tigers starting the Ivy season in Hanover versus defending champion Dartmouth. Last year's contest versus the Big Green ended in a 0-0, double overtime knot.

Princeton follows up the trip to Hanover with another to Brown. The Tigers will finish up the season at home against Yale.

"We expect all seven Ivy games to be really close games," Barlow said, "and if we are to have a chance to win the title, we need to take care of the little details in front of both goals that seem to determine the champion every year."