Ivy win in sight for Princeton

When men's soccer squares off this Saturday against Dartmouth, there will be many more than the usual 11 Tigers on Lourie-Love Field.

"I think there's already been several hundred alums who have signed up to come back [to Saturday's game], so it should be a pretty good crowd and exciting atmosphere," head coach Jim Barlow '91 said.

Princeton (4-3-2 overall, 0-1-0 Ivy League) will match up against the Big Green (2-3-3, 0-0-1) at 4 p.m. in just one in a series of events this weekend to celebrate the 100th year of the Orange and Black's soccer program.

Beginning with an alumni game at 10 a.m., the day will continue with a 1 p.m. contest between women's soccer and Dartmouth's women's program. At 6:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the men's game, Princeton will round out the day's festivities with an official reception to commemorate soccer's monumental legacy at this school.

It is only fitting that the Tigers celebrate their 100th season with a veteran player at the helm. After an impressive career which included receiving 1990 Ivy League Player of the Year honors, Barlow now marks his 11th season as head coach and will look to provide 90 minutes of well-fought drama to his fellow alumni.

Crowd support could rouse Princeton to out-hustle the speedy Big Green, who earned an automatic NCAA Tournament bid last year. Before beating Bucknell on Wednesday, the Tigers had endured a rough stretch, with an overtime loss to Rutgers, 1-0, on Sept. 20 and a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Yale to open their Ivy League season Sept. 23.

A solid performance by Princeton on the road against Bucknell, a game that Barlow argues was the "best game of the year," suggests that the Tigers are back in top playing form and ready to take on the Big Green full-throttle.

During the Bucknell game, Princeton relied on young blood to make the offensive charge, with freshman forward Dion Bubar-Hall assisting fellow freshman forward Ben Harms in the game's only goal.

"[For] some of the young guys, it takes a couple weeks before they get used to the pace and the athleticism of college soccer," Barlow said. "Some of them are starting to do better and challenge for those spots [to play]."

The Tigers will need their full arsenal of offensive talent to capitalize on set pieces and the slightest defensive slip-ups. One or two key offensive plays could be the difference between victory and defeat for Princeton .

The Tigers fell to the Big Green last year on the road in overtime, 1-0. Dartmouth's Mike Ordonez already has two goals so far this season and will look to repeat his feat from last year, notching a score against the Tigers — but not if any of the cheering alumni on the sidelines have anything to say about it.