High scoring weekend for Tigers

In the 90 minutes it took to play Friday's opener of the Penn Soccer Classic in Philadelphia, the men's soccer team netted as many goals in one game as it had in its first four games. The Tiger's four-goal performance vaulted the squad past a tough Duquesne team by a score of 4-1 and extended one of the hottest season starts for the team in years.

The Tigers took to the field again on Sunday to face St. Joseph's, a team that had been struggling heading into the tournament. The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but could not stop the late Hawks goal that tied the game at 1-1, which ended up being the final score for the match. With the two solid performances, the Tigers head into their next match with only one loss in their first six tries.

In Friday's match up against the Dukes, the Tigers took the lead early and then proceeded to score often to cap a decisive victory. Junior forward Kyle McHugh started the scoring for the Tigers with a laser shot into the bottom-right corner of the net, blowing it by goalkeeper Zach Varga to put the Tigers ahead going into the half.

Duquesne responded halfway through the second half with a rebuttal goal from Mike McCutcheon, who was fresh after just entering the game as a substitute. The 67th minute goal from the freshman forward tied the game at one apiece.

Less than 10 minutes later, following a flurry of frenzied Princeton offensive production, the score was 4-1 and the Tigers secured a victory.

Sophomore midfielder Brad Fechter began the scoring onslaught and in the process, netted his first career goal as a Tiger. Fechter's 69th minute shot came off a rebound, after junior midfielder Dan Cummins' shot knocked Vargas out of position.

Four minutes later, McHugh helped orchestrate a beautiful play which culminated in a goal for senior midfielder Jame Wunsch. McHugh took a corner kick that ended up coming back to him and directed it perfectly to a waiting Wunsch, who headed the ball in for the score.

Exactly one minute later, the Tigers tallied their fourth and final goal of the game. Cummins, who had helped begin the scoring spree with his productive miss, got a second chance when he cut through the Dukes' defense to get to the top of the box. He unleashed a powerful left-footed shot to give the Tigers a 4-1 victory.

On Sunday, the Tigers carried the momentum of their previous victory into their match against St. Joseph's. In the first 45 minutes of regulation, the Tigers out-shot the Hawks by a tally of 11-3. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Hawk goalie Bryan Benedict only allowed one of those shots to get by him.

Wunsch, the Tigers' lone scorer, netted his second goal of the weekend 14 minutes into the first half. In what seems to be becoming a routine for the two Tiger teammates, McHugh crossed the ball in front of the net where a waiting Wunsch headed the ball in for the score.

Disappointingly for the Tigers, St. Joseph's netted a goal of its own with only five minutes remaining in regulation on a loose ball after a corner kick. Despite solid scoring opportunities for each team in overtime, the game remained tied at one.

Heading into the weekend, the Tiger's were coming off just their first loss of the season, a decisive 3-0 blanking at the hands nationally-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson. Princeton's ability to rebound from the loss with its strongest performance of the year against Duquesne and a solid effort against St. Joe's will certainly buoy the team's confidence as they prepare to face off against perennial rival Rutgers on Wednesday.