Brown to pose first Ivy test

It's pretty easy to forget a slow start when you haven't lost a game in nearly two weeks. After beginning the season with six consecutive losses, the men's soccer team (2-6-1 overall) has had nothing but success since, and will look to keep that trend going when it opens its Ivy League schedule against Brown (6-1-1) in Providence, R.I., tomorrow.

With their 4-3 overtime victory against Adelphi on Wednesday night, the Tigers stretched their unbeaten streak to three. Princeton will receive a serious heat check tomorrow, though, in the form of one of the best teams the Ivy League has to offer.

"They might not be the most gifted soccer team," senior captain and forward Kyle McHugh said. "But they'll compete hard — every game is a championship game for them."

The Bears' offensive effort will be led by the two-headed attack of forwards Kevin Davies and Dylan Sheehan. The pair has combined for 12 of Brown's 14 goals and 27 of the team's 43 points.

Davies has already been named Ivy League Player of the Week once this season, after scoring four goals in two games to lead Brown to an Adidas San Diego Classic championship in September. Not to be outdone, Sheehan has knocked in three game-winning goals for the Bears through eight matches this season.

Brown has also found success with its goalie tandem of Paul Grandstrand and Jarrett Leech, each of whom has started four games for the Bears. The pair has allowed just eight goals in as many games.

After an inconsistent start, the Tigers have harnessed their offensive potential enough in the last two games to pose a serious threat to the Brown goalies, scoring six goals in all. The six goals matched Princeton's total from its previous six games — a clear indication that the Tigers are headed in the right direction.

"We're on a bit of a roll," McHugh said. "We've learned what it takes to win games. There's a huge difference between playing well and winning."

As always, a key component of the Princeton attack will be McHugh, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Adelphi on Wednesday. McHugh leads the team with three goals, nine shots on goal and 25 total shots.

If the Tigers are to be successful tomorrow, they will need McHugh to help them break through against Grandstrand and Leech, and they will have to find a way to contain Davies and Sheehan, who have supplied almost all of the Brown offense this year.

One recent development for the Tigers has been the emergence of freshman Sean Lynch as the team's regular goalie. Since Lynch took over the Princeton net when the team traveled to California, he is 2-2-1, having allowed eight goals and made 10 saves. Though the young keeper had a rough go of it Wednesday night, allowing three goals and making just two saves, he nevertheless kept the Tigers in a position to come out on top.

Despite Brown's talent on both sides of the ball, the Tigers have the advantage in momentum, as Brown suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday night against Boston University.

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The Tigers, meanwhile, are playing their best soccer of the season, and it couldn't have come at a better time. A win on Saturday could jumpstart the Tigers on their way to fulfilling their goal of capturing Princeton's first Ivy League title in six years.

"We'll go into this game thinking we can win now," McHugh said. "Brown has no idea what's coming — we'll surprise them on Saturday."