Pirates prevail over Tigers

The men's soccer team had trouble finding goals in its first three games. It finally netted three Monday night — but still lost.

Princeton (0-4 overall) dropped its fourth straight, 4-3, to Seton Hall (3-3). Freshman forward Brandon Busch, senior forward Dan Cummins and senior forward Kyle McHugh each netted goals for the Tigers.

Princeton fell behind 3-1 in the 66th minute but leveled the score by the 84th. Two seconds after McHugh's equalizer, however, Pirate forward Andrew Welker played the ensuing kickoff to Eliseo Giusfredi, who blasted a 60-yard shot over junior goalkeeper Joe Walter's outstretched grasp to seal the win.

The Pirates struck first in the 20th minute, but in the 53rd minute Busch stole a failed clear and quickly converted. The score was the team's first of the year that was not an own goal and the first of Busch's career in a Princeton uniform.

For a team that had been struggling to score, three goals lifted a proverbial monkey off the team's back.

"A weight was lifted," Busch said. "We played really well offensively."

Busch, who immediately sprinted to the embrace of his teammates at the bench after scoring, helped fire up the team for the remainder of the game.

"It feels great," Busch said of finding the net for the first time in a Princeton uniform. "It's a very good feeling; we were laughing. The coaches were excited to see me happy like that."

Seven minutes after Busch's equalizer, however, midfielder Justin McGrath latched on to a through-ball down the middle of the pitch before outrunning the Tiger defense and finishing past Walter. McGrath grabbed his second of the game in the 66th minute, winning a loose ball in the Princeton end and slipping the shot into the goal's right netting.

Ten minutes later, Cummins rifled his fourth career goal after collecting his own loose ball on the left side of the Pirate box to halve the deficit. Finally, with six minutes, 46 seconds remaining on the scoreboard, McHugh finished a nice cross from Busch, who recorded the Tigers' first assist of the year.

Unfortunately, McHugh's finish led to Giusfredi's improbable game-winning strike. Despite the tough loss, the team is trying to remain upbeat about its good performance.

"It's really hard to swallow when something like that happens," Busch said. "We knew we were playing really well. We knew were doing the right thing."

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Despite playing better than it had in its previous games, Princeton still feels pressure to win after seeing the victory snatched away in the waning minutes.

"I think we do feel a sense of urgency, but we know that a win is coming," Busch said. "We know we're better than an 0-4 team. We're looking forward to the next game."

While it might seem easy to put the blame of what seems like a wasted effort on Walter — there are few scores from 60 yards out — the Tigers are instead focused on the positive effort that came from the game.

"I've never been in a game with a goal from almost half-field," Busch said. "But we outplayed them, and the team is being very supportive of each other, and especially our goalie."

Princeton outshot Seton Hall 20-14, including 10-7 on goal. Each team had four corner kicks, while Seton Hall committed three more fouls.

Cummins led the team with five shots, including three on goal, while sophomore midfielder Devin Muntz attempted four shots, with two finding the keeper's mitts.

Walter finished the game with three saves and four goals allowed, while his counterpart Paul McHenry made seven stops.

Princeton returns to action this weekend at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., where the Tigers will take on Stanford and California. While the latest game shows that the Tigers have found their offensive touch, they must combine it with some staunch defense before erasing the zero that stands in the "W" column.