Chaudhuri and Young shine outside spotlight

Seniors Ben Young and Neil Chaudhuri have started every men's soccer game this season. In fact, they've started nearly every game for the past three seasons. And they've won accolades for it as well — Young, who plays midfield, was named honorable mention All-Ivy for his performance as a freshman.

Yet the casual Princeton fan would be excused for not recognizing their names as instantly as, say, a certain senior goalkeeper named Bobby Guelich or a certain senior captain named Darren Spicer.

Young and Chaudhuri, however, aren't bothered by flying under the radar. In fact, Young went so far as to say, "Bobby Guelich [and] Darren Spicer ... don't get as much attention as they should."

Perhaps they're just used to playing in a supportive role. After all, Chaudhuri, who hails from Stony Point, N.Y., plays defense, so he's not usually in line for most scoring opportunities. Nonetheless, head coach Jim Barlow specifically singled out the team's defense for praise after last week's match against Seton Hall for being able to shut them out during the first half.

For his part, Young describes his role on the team as "just to run up and down and try to create as many chances as possible." He led the team in assists last year, and, by virtue of scoring Princeton's lone goal in the loss to Seton Hall last week, he now stands fourth in the scoring table.

Young arrived at Princeton from Chevy Chase, Md. He has played soccer since the age of six, and his pre-frosh experience culminated with him participating in the National Olympic Development Program (ODP). His decision to come to Princeton was particularly influenced by former assistant coach Trevor Ellis.

"He was just the best recruiter I've ever met. Once I talked to him, I was hooked on Princeton," Young said. "He had this quiet confidence about him ... an aura of success that attracted me."

Like Young, Chaudhuri also started playing at around age six — and also participated in the ODP. He was part of the team that won the National Under-16 title in 2000 and was awarded all-league, all-section and all-county honors that year and the year after for his performance on his high school team.

And while he knew he definitely wanted to continue playing throughout his college career, he only settled on Princeton after his recruiting tour. The combined influences of Martin Shaw '04 and George's Buffalo Wings, which he now visits "twice a week," hooked him immediately.

Young and Chaudhuri have been roommates since last year, but their acquaintance stretches back to the summer before freshman year, when both traveled to Spain with the ODP to participate in the Adidas Elite Soccer Camp in Barcelona.

Neither Young nor Chaudhuri regret coming here — Young praised the coaching staff as "very stand-up" and the team as "unselfish and fun" — though they concede that the season so far hasn't lived up to their hopes.

"We had really high expectations coming into the year, which is why it's kind of hard to take," said Chaudhuri, pointing to the high number of returning starters and, in particular, the core group of seniors who have been playing together since their freshman year.

Young mentioned the tough schedule the team faced, beginning with two away league contests. Beyond that, Young added that "it's just taken some time for us to get healthy." He is still confident that the team will be able to "get some results".

Beyond May, neither player has any concrete plans. While they both would like to continue playing soccer, Chaudhuri recognizes that "unless you go pro, it's kind of tough to keep up soccer," and neither expressed much enthusiasm about the prospect of playing professionally.

For now, though, the roommates, classmates and teammates are just looking forward to ending their final season with the Tigers as strongly as they've played throughout their time here.