Overtime Heartbreak

For 98 minutes, both the men's soccer team and their opponents from Rutgers produced little offense. The game seemed destined to be a 0-0 tie.

But in the 99th minute, the head of Rutgers forward Adam Sternberger redirected a long ball into the back of the net, handing Princeton a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat in the first overtime period.

The "golden goal" came only moments after the Tigers nearly ended the game on their own accord, when the Rutgers goalkeeper barely got a hand on a rocket from freshman midfielder Devin Muntz. The stingy Scarlet Knight defense then thwarted two corner kicks from the Orange and Black before setting up its own game-winning play.

Defense was the name of the game, though, as each team consistently limited the other's scoring chances and shot attempts.

Rutgers finished the game with 13 shots, but only three on target. Princeton squeezed off eight shots, four of which challenged the keeper. Though the Tigers had fewer total shots, nearly all of Princeton's chances were quality attempts.

"We had to play compact defense," head coach Jim Barlow said. "But our defensive play led to some great scoring chances."

The first of the Tigers' chances came in the 16th minute when a shot sailed long, but they nearly netted one eight minutes later when junior forward Kyle McHugh chased down a long ball to the corner and centered, but the shot by junior defender Dan Cummins was scooped up by the keeper.

In the 39th minute, crisp passing and a well-placed through-ball set up what would have been a beautiful opportunity, but McHugh was a step offside.

For much of the second half, neither team could produce a threat offensively. Possession often changed hands around the midfield and almost all threats were vanquished before the ball could even enter the penalty box.

Starting in the 79th minute, both teams picked up the pace as the prospect of a 0-0 tie seemed inevitable. Princeton was the first to up the ante when a scrum following a free kick drew the Rutgers goalkeeper from the box. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Rutgers defense blocked all shot attempts.

Rutgers responded with its own chance — a redirect right in front of the goal — but senior goalkeeper Justin Oppenheimer was up to the task.

Each team had a couple more scoring chances before the whistle blew on the second half.

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Come overtime, the teams kept up the late-game intensity. The Rutgers keeper made a diving save on a header off a corner kick, while Oppenheimer made a save of his own only a minute later off a Rutgers cross.

In the sixth minute of overtime, Cummins slide-tackled a Rutgers player from behind, earning him his second yellow card and the accompanying red card — Princeton played the next three minutes with 10 players.

On the ensuing free kick, the ball was headed around a number of times before being cleared by the Tiger defense, setting up Princeton's final scoring chance and eventually Rutgers' game-winning goal.

Despite the heartbreak, Princeton was able to take many good things from the game.

"We really sorted out some things, especially defensively," Barlow said. "We played four in the back for the first time, and on the whole we played much better than we did against St. Joe's. Give Rutgers credit, though. They're a great team that played well tonight."

The coach especially praised members of the team who stepped up in the absence of junior defender Matt Kontos, who is sidelined with an ankle injury.

"[Freshman defender] Danny Steiner, who wasn't even on the traveling squad a week ago, really stepped up in his first collegiate game. [Sophomore defender] Pat Farrell really played well, too," Barlow said.

Barlow was also extremely complimentary toward freshman forward Ben Harms, who faced a daunting task against a big Rutgers defense.

On the whole, Barlow and the rest of the team are optimistic — especially on the defensive end — heading into a Saturday showdown with Ivy League rival Yale in New Haven, Conn.