Late goals end winning streak

Most of the fans for the men's soccer game on Wednesday left after the 24th minute, but not because the game was out of reach for either team. Rather, the rain, thunder and lightning drove off the Tigers' most ardent supporters. Despite the exodus, the game was nowhere close to finished.

With the score deadlocked at 0-0 in the 88th minute, St. John's (7-3-2 overall) defender Patrik Engstrom sent a free kick that not only overshot a streaking forward but also senior goalkeeper Justin Oppenheimer, falling into the right side of the net.

Princeton (5-4-2, 1-1 Ivy League) had a two-game winning streak snapped by the loss.

Five minutes earlier, St. John's nearly put itself on top. After a tackle on a breakaway in the penalty box, Red Storm captain Georgio Spanos lifted a penalty kick nearly twice the height of the actual goal.

Wednesday's game started at the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time, but rain and lightning forced the referees to suspend play in the 24th minute. The contest was halted for over an hour and did not conclude until past 10 o'clock.

The game was the first start for Oppenheimer since Princeton's 3-2 loss to Yale on September 23. Sophomore Joe Walter had played the two games previous to Wednesday in front of the net. Oppenheimer, however, is not to blame for the loss against St. John's. Rather, the team as a whole failed to match the intensity it showed in its two prior contests, especially the Dartmouth game.

"Compared to the two previous games, this was a totally different team," senior defender and team captain Jame Wunsch said. "In those games we were more aggressive, fighting for balls, trying to get dangerous. We weren't getting dangerous in this game."

In the first 24 minutes, St. John's applied much pressure to the Tiger defense, and won most of the challenges at midfield. After the lightning delay, however, Princeton came out as though it had been charged up — and kept consistent pressure on the Red Storm defense.

The second half was a different story. While both teams exchanged great scoring chances, St. John's outshot the Tigers 7-2 over the final 45 minutes.

Wunsch attributed the shooting discrepancy to the defensive corps he anchored. Indeed, during the game Wunsch could be seen screaming at his teammates who were either out of place or failed to be aggressive on loose balls.

"We made way too many mistakes in the back," Wunsch said. "We gave them too many chances."

Though St. John's won many of the battles at midfield and forced many mistakes in the Princeton defense, it was Wunsch and junior defender Matt Kontos whose pressure and well-timed tackles kept the St. John's shots from reaching their target. Nevertheless, with so many chances, The Red Storm was bound to break through eventually.

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"I thought we did a good job holding for so long," Wunsch said, "but it's definitely a tough loss."

The Tigers were not without scoring chances of their own. Freshman forwards Max Hare and Ben Harms used nifty footwork to set up more than one scoring chance in the first half.

In the 44th minute junior forward Kyle McHugh's dribbling skills caused a St. John's defender to slip and fall before McHugh rifled a shot to the far post that was barely touched away by the Red Storm goalkeeper Jason Landers.

In the second half, Princeton's best chance came in the 65th minute when sophomore midfielder Brad Fetcher blasted a shot from just out side the box. The leaping goalkeeper managed only one hand on the shot, but it was just enough to deflect it over the crossbar.

Princeton's last chance of the game came in the 86th minute — when the score was still 0-0 — as McHugh's head redirected a cross just wide right.

Minutes later, Princeton was attacking when McHugh was called for a very dubious handball. On the subsequent play, St. John's made several long passes before getting fouled, setting up the game's only goal. It was Princeton's twelfth foul of the second half, to St. John's three.

Wunsch partly attributed his team's lack of intensity to the minimal crowd in attendance. Both because it was a midweek non-conference game, and because of the rain delay, very few Princeton fans attended. After the rain stopped, there seemed to be more red shirts than orange and black ones in the stands.

"Good teams find ways to get up even if there aren't fans," Wunsch said. "Against Dartmouth, so many people were there to celebrate the 100th anniversary, and we really fed off the crowd's energy."

Wunsch should have the crowd backing this Saturday when Princeton takes on No. 21 Brown on Lourie-Love field at 7 p.m. Penn and Brown are the only teams who remain undefeated in league play.

"Tell people to come out on Saturday," he said. "It helps a lot."