McHugh leads Princeton to first league win

The men's soccer team was dealing with a lot of history heading into Saturday's home contest against Dartmouth (2-4-3 overall, 0-1-1 Ivy League). There was the Tigers recent three-game winless skid that Princeton (5-3-2 overall, 1-1-0 Ivy League) had snapped earlier that week. Then there was the more distant memory of over a decade of home losses against the visiting Big Green, dating back to 1994. But perhaps the history that stood out in the Tigers' minds as they took the field was not their past struggles on the field but the living history in the stands.

Dozens of alumni packed the stands to commemorate 100 years of Princeton soccer and to witness the Tigers earn a well-deserved 1-0 win over the visiting Big Green. It was the squad's first Ivy League win of the season.

McHugh scores

The lone goal of the game came in the 34th minute of the first half. The score was set up by senior midfielder Jame Wunsch, who passed the ball from a few yards in front of Princeton's box to freshman midfielder Devin Muntz, who was waiting well across midfield. Muntz deflected the ball to junior forward Kyle McHugh, who took control of the ball and ripped past his defender and the rest of the scrambling Dartmouth defense. Alone in front of the net, McHugh put a well-kicked ball just outside of the keeper's reach for his second goal of the season.

Although the Tigers limited the Big Green to just five shots on goal for the game, one of those shots came within inches of stalemating the match at one. A Dartmouth midfielder ripped a high arching shot from about twenty yards out. Sophomore goalkeeper Joe Walter backpedaled and leapt backwards, just getting enough of the ball to prevent it from diving below the top post.

But the effort left Walter out of position and the ball just inches in front of the net. As two Dartmouth players converged on the empty net, a Princeton defender split the charging players and deflected the ball away. This extraordinary defensive play preserved the victory.

Walter solid in net

Walter used the afternoon to continue to prove that he is a reliable option in net. In two starts, Walter has seen only a half-dozen shots make their way to the net, but he has been flawless in stopping all of them. In Saturday's contest, he showed great poise and made some big stops at crucial junctures in the action.

Despite putting up only one score, the Tigers' effort on the field suggested a much wider margin of victory. The team seemed to demonstrate a renewed energy that had been lacking in Princeton's past several starts.

On more than one occasion it looked like an errant pass was about to sail out of bounds or that a Dartmouth defender was going to have an easy opportunity to clear the ball, only to have a Tiger salvage the play. There is little question that this energy wore down the Big Green, who were forced to bring in four substitutes to Princeton's one.

The Tigers hope to keep up this momentum in their non-league matchup against No. 17 St. John's on Wednesday. The match will be a great opportunity for the Tigers to demonstrate that, despite an early season hiccup, the team is ready to compete in the Ivy League. In St. John's most recent match, the Red Storm fell to Big East rival Cincinnati.

Princeton will then continue Ivy League play next Saturday, when it hosts Brown at the friendly confines of Lourie-Love field. As the Tigers currently sit at 1-1 in the league, this game will be a crucial test as to whether the Tigers can win the Ivy League.