Stalemate results after frantic final minutes

One might think that taking a lead into the 84th minute would almost always result in a win. Not so. One might more confidently think that taking a lead into the 90th minute should lead to victory.

Don't tell the men's soccer team.

The last seven minutes in regulation of Saturday's matchup saw three goals — two by Princeton (6-5-3 overall, 1-2-1 Ivy League) — as the team finished in a 2-2 draw against conference rival Columbia (5-5-2, 0-2-2). Junior forward Kyle McHugh netted the final equalizer with only 35 seconds remaining and only 27 seconds after forward Tom Smith had given the Lions a 2-1 lead.

In the 84th minute, freshman forward Devin Muntz knotted the game at one when he received a cross from sophomore midfielder Brian Brady about 10 yards in front of the goal. Muntz calmly buried the shot in the upper-right corner of the net. But with the score now tied, the drama was only beginning.

With 1:02 remaining in the game, Smith one-timed a cross from the right side that seemed to ice the game for Columbia. On the ensuing kickoff, Princeton moved forward urgently, but the ball was knocked back to junior defender Matt Kontos. Kontos then played a perfect long ball to McHugh, who found his way behind the defense as three Lion defenders collided. McHugh then dribbled past the goalkeeper and played the ball into the open net.

"There was only a minute left," McHugh said. "We knew we had to make it happen. Kontos played a great ball."

After the furious end to regulation, the 20 subsequent minutes of overtime were relatively tame. Princeton managed two shots in the first 10 minutes and only one in the second while Columbia took two strikes throughout the entire overtime. For the game, the Tigers outshot the Lions 13-12. Columbia, however, placed seven of its shots on target to Princeton's four.

Freshman forward Ben Harms recorded three shots, while Muntz, McHugh and senior defender and team captain Jame Wunsch notched two apiece.

Sophomore goalkeeper Joe Walter notched five saves — including one in overtime — for the Tigers.

Columbia's first goal did not come until the 57th minute. Up until that point Columbia had the edge in possession, but from then until Muntz's goal in the 84th minute, play mostly occurred in the Lions' half of the field.

"We gave up two goals that we probably shouldn't have," McHugh said. "But we were proud to fight back each time. We would have much rather won. A win is always better than a tie."

Conditions made play difficult for both teams. The temperature hovered in the low forties with gusty winds, and the Columbia soccer field had not been neatly maintained. Other than the two goals that Princeton gave up, McHugh was very positive about the Tigers' effort.

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"Jame Wunsch was solid in the back as always," McHugh said. "But it was a hard-fought effort from everyone, especially given the conditions."

There are things the Tigers need to improve, but luckily Princeton's three remaining games are all on weekends, giving it a week to prepare for each.

"We're getting killed on set pieces," McHugh said. "We're giving up a fair amount of goals on them. We really need to work on set pieces around the goals, corner kicks, fouls outside the box. We've had a lot of chances that we should've converted on, and we've also given up a lot of goals that we shouldn't have."

Each team had three corner kicks for the evening while Columbia racked up 15 fouls to the Tigers' 11.

The game was well attended for both sides; the weekend was Columbia's homecoming, and the Tigers had many alumni and regional fans to cheer the team on.

Princeton returns to action this Saturday as it takes on Harvard at 4 pm at Lourie-Love Field.