Second-half flurry sends Princeton to league defeat

As the men's soccer team was in the process of turning around its previously winless season a few weeks ago, senior captain Kyle McHugh remarked that there was a difference between playing well and winning games. But after the Tigers' 3-2 loss against 11th-ranked Harvard (9-2-2 overall, 2-1-0 Ivy League) on Saturday, it's apparent that Princeton (3-8-2, 1-2-0) has yet to fully surmount that difference.

Holding a 2-1 lead heading into halftime, the Tigers were overtaken by a talented Harvard squad in the final 17 minutes of the contest. Following a game-tying goal just minutes earlier, the Crimson went up for good when Kwaku Nyamakye chipped the ball past junior goalie Joe Walter for the win in the 79th minute.

Despite an underwhelming start to the game — Harvard got on the board first when forward Michael Fucito scored in the 25th minute — the Tigers controlled much of the first half.

"At the start of the game it was pretty back and forth, and then once it settled down, we had our way with them for a little while," McHugh said. "We could've had a third or fourth goal, but we still had a really good first half."

Trailing 1-0, Princeton tied up the game in the 31st minute when McHugh scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season. After receiving a feed from sophomore midfielder Devin Muntz, McHugh put his shot into the top right corner past Harvard goalie Adam Hahn.

"[Senior defenseman and captain Matt] Kontos put in a great ball from the back, and Devin was making a great run," McHugh said. "They weren't tracking me and Devin got the ball to me,, so I had a go at it from 18 to 20 yards."

Just minutes later, Princeton took the lead when freshman forward Brandon Busch capitalized on a poor clear by Harvard, knocking the ball past Hahn. The 38th-minute goal was Busch's second of the season.

The Tigers finished the first half leading Harvard in shots, 9-8, and were poised to take down the league's top-ranked team as they began the second half.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, the second half did not go as planned. With its Ivy League chances in jeopardy, Harvard ignited a second-half surge. After nearly 30 minutes of play, the Crimson onslaught finally broke down the Princeton defense.

"We came out in the second half [and] tried to hang on to the lead, [but] they just caught us," McHugh said. "They had a better game in the second half, and we just couldn't get ahold of the ball enough."

In the 73rd minute, Nyamekye crossed the ball to forward Andre Akpan, who redirected a shot past Walter for his 11th goal of the season. Nyamekye, who was credited with the assist, had returned just moments earlier from an injury that left him sidelined for a brief time.

Akpan's game-tying goal set up Nyamekye's heroics just minutes later, which gave Harvard its game ending 3-2 lead.

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Harvard's pair of goals highlighted a thoroughly dominant half in which it outshot Princeton 17-4 and held a 6-2 corner kick advantage.

In spite of Walter's five second-half saves, the Tigers were unable to generate a successful offensive attack to match the Crimson's. The difference in Tiger play between the first and second halves was striking.

Walter, in his first start since Sept. 17th at Seton Hall, made a handful of diving saves in the second half to hold the Princeton lead until the 73rd minute. He finished the game with nine saves on 25 Harvard shots.

The loss certainly puts a dent in Princeton's chances at capturing the elusive league championship. In a league as competitive as the Ivy League, one loss, let alone two, could mean the end of a team's title hopes.

"Our league chances are very tough," McHugh said. "A couple bounces could have gone our way, and we could've had two wins against ranked opponents [Brown and Harvard]. If we get wins in our final four games, we can be a factor in the league. We're still here to play soccer."

For the Tigers to have any shot at the title, they will need to go unbeaten in those final four league games. That quest begins Saturday, when Princeton faces Cornell in its penultimate home game of the season at Powers Field at Princeton Stadium.