Execution fine, goals not in loss

A soccer team can dominate possession and can keep the ball in its opponent's end, but, when the final whistle blows, it is who puts the ball in the other team's most net that counts.

Unfortunately for the men's soccer team (6-6-3 overall, 1-3-1 Ivy League), two goals off of broken plays guided rival Harvard to a 2-1 victory Saturday at Lourie-Love Field.

In the 54th minute, Freshman forward Devin Muntz scored the Tigers' lone goal, his fourth of the season. Muntz received a pass at the top of the box from junior defender Dan Cummins and rocketed a shot into the top left corner of the net.

Harvard (11-4-0, 4-1) broke a scoreless tie in the 34th minute when forward Matt Hoff received a cross at the top of the box and chipped it over sophomore goalkeeper Joe Walter, who was charging out of net to get to the cross.

The Crimson doubled their lead in the 51st minute on a long free kick. After Walter made the initial save on a header, freshman forward Andre Akpan kicked in the rebound for his Ivy League-leading ninth goal of the season.

Harvard outshot Princeton 11-9, while placing six of its attempts on target to the Tigers' three. Senior goalkeeper Justin Oppenheimer replaced Walter in the 56th minute, recording three saves over the remainder of the match.

The first half saw little offense outside of Harvard's goal. Princeton managed three shots to Harvard's two, with most of the play occurring around midfield. The second half was played mostly in Harvard's end, but time after time the Crimson defense thwarted the Tigers' shot opportunities.

"We played a good game, I thought everybody played well," senior defender and captain Jame Wunsch said. "We came out strong, and we had lots of chances. We really just got no luck."

"We kept it in their end," head coach Jim Barlow said. "We did a good job of keeping their dangerous players under control."

Though Princeton was able to keep the Harvard offense in check for most of the game, the Tigers' momentary lapses led to the Crimson's two goals, as both arose out of seemingly awry plays.

"We gave up two goals, on plays that came from nothing," Barlow said. "You play well and you give yourself chances by keeping the ball in their end. Sometimes the ball just doesn't bounce your way."

Princeton, on the other hand, was able to execute its plays and passes with efficiency, led by Wunsch and junior defender Matt Kontos, but was unable to time crosses or put shots on target effectively. Junior forward Kyle McHugh finished the contest with five shots, two on goal, while freshman striker Max Hare took two shots. Muntz and junior defender Robbie Morgenroth had one shot apiece.

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"We did well finding white jerseys, making good passes," Wunsch said. "We just couldn't find the right heads when we got close to the box."

Princeton's intensity level picked up noticeably in the second half, almost immediately following Harvard's second goal and some key substitutions. Passes were made with a little more urgency and a few more loose balls found the feet of white jerseys. The Tigers' intensity only picked up after Muntz's goal.

"I thought we played most of the game in their end," Wunsch said, "especially in the second half. Luck just wasn't on our side today."

"We played aggressively," Barlow said. "We were beating them to balls."

With the win, Harvard is tied with Penn atop the conference standings. Princeton is tied with Cornell for fifth place and faces the Big Red this Saturday in Ithaca, N.Y. Princeton will have to win out to finish .500 in Ivy play, but in order to do so it must score more effectively while keeping up its intensity throughout the whole game.

"I thought we played well today," Barlow said. "I thought we outplayed our opponents, but it's too bad we didn't have much to show for it."