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Walburn's late free kick secures tie

After a less-than-stellar start to the season, the men's soccer team needed two clutch plays from a rookie defender to maintain its run of six-straight strong performances.

Freshman defender Josh Walburn's 30-yard free kick in the 64th minute came during a strong second-half surge, as Princeton (3-7-2 overall, 1-1-0 Ivy League) forced a 1-1 overtime tie at St. John's (6-4-4) on Wednesday night. Since starting the season 0-6, the Tigers have only lost once, at No. 8 Brown.

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St. John's took the lead in the 22nd minute when Michael Luk headed in a cross that was deflected past freshman goalkeeper Sean Lynch.

The Red Storm nearly doubled its lead in the 51st minute, but a header was cleared off the line by Walburn to preserve the one-goal deficit and set up his long-range leveler.

The second half saw a much more concerted offensive effort from the Tigers than the first. Walburn's strike was the first goal conceded by St. John's in nearly 500 minutes of play, dating back to Sept. 28.

"We were moving the ball around well, and our forwards and outside midfielders were putting pressure on their defense," senior co-captain and defender Matt Kontos said. "We were getting a lot of shots from the outside."

The pressure eventually forced the St. John's foul that led to Princeton's only goal. Walburn, who scored a free-kick goal earlier this season against Farleigh Dickinson, put a blistering shot on-target that could not be stopped by the home team's keeper.

The Princeton defense, anchored by Kontos, was solid all night. The only goal it gave up came after a cross from the left took a Red Storm bounce before finding Luk at the far post, who finished into the exposed net.

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"It was just an unfortunate deflection," Kontos said. "It wasn't a defensive breakdown."

St. John's outshot Princeton 15-11, including 7-5 on goal and 4-1 in extra time. The Tigers got two shots apiece from senior captain and forward Kyle McHugh, junior midfielder Brad Fechter and freshman forward Brandon Busch.

Lynch made two saves in the first half before being replaced by junior goalkeeper Joe Walter, who made three saves in the second half and overtime.

Walter's most crucial save came with 30 seconds remaining in the game. A close-range shot sent Walter sprawling to his right, but he got enough of his hand on the ball to knock it over the endline.

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Overall, the team was not only pleased with its second-half effort, but also with its result against a perennially strong team on its home turf.

"In the second half we outplayed them definitely," Kontos said, "and in overtime we definitely held our own. St. John's is one of the most hostile environments to play, and they are a really good team."

Ivy slate resumes tomorrow

Princeton now looks to defending Ivy League champions No. 11 Harvard (8-2-2, 1-1-0), who is coming off a 1-1 tie of its own against Holy Cross. Last weekend, the Crimson dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to league-leader Brown. The game will be in Cambridge, Mass.

Harvard is led offensively by forward Andre Akpan, who leads the Ivy League with 10 goals and six assists, having scored in nine consecutive games. Akpan represented the United States in the U-20 World Championships this past summer in Korea — on a team that included stars such as Freddy Adu.

Akpan leads a high-powered attack that has scored 27 goals in 12 games, compared to Princeton's 16. Teammate Michael Fucito is second in the Ivy League with 19 points.

For the Tigers, the last six games have produced several positive results that they hope to carry forward into the remainder of the season.

"[The tie against St. John's] is a good step going into Harvard this weekend," Kontos said. "We're confident that we can win."

A loss to Harvard would be the Tigers' second in Ivy play, which would in all likelihood eliminate them from title contention. A win, however, would thrust Princeton into the race with Brown.

"I think if we can keep this positive mindset we'll be great," Kontos said. "If we win this weekend we're still in the hunt for the Ivy League, so I'd call it a must-win game."

For the Tigers, however, it will take that positive mindset and lots of tight defense if they have any hope of derailing the Crimson at home. But if the last six games are any indication, Harvard is in for a much stiffer challenge than its opponent's record implies.