Defense gets two key Ivy victories

Though the high-scoring, flashy players and teams — Ronaldinho's Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United — might be the most entertaining, playing great defense can earn a "W" just the same.

The men's soccer team grinded out a pair of 1-0 victories over Fall Break, climbing into a third-place tie with Harvard in the Ivy League standings. Princeton (5-8-2 overall, 3-2 Ivy League) took down Cornell (5-8-1, 0-4-1) at home on Oct. 27, before edging Penn (5-8-2, 2-3) on the road last Saturday.

Freshman forward Brandon Busch hit the 60th-minute game-winner against Cornell, while senior captain and forward Kyle McHugh's team-leading seventh goal of the season was enough to edge Penn.

Junior goalkeeper Joe Walter pitched clean sheets in both outings, recording five saves against the Big Red and three against the Quakers. The Tiger defense has allowed only nine goals in its last nine games, posting five shutouts along the way.

"The defense has picked it up so much," Walter said. "When we play like that, we give our offense a chance to win or at least tie, and they came through."

The first half against Cornell saw plenty of shots — nine from Princeton and eight from Cornell — but neither goalkeeper budged, as Walter's diving save to his right in the 17th minute and tip of a header in the 36th minute kept the scoresheet clean.

Busch capitalized on a Cornell miscue to break the deadlock in the 60th minute. After the Big Red defense failed to clear, Busch corralled the ball at the top of the penalty area before blasting a left-footed effort inside the goal's left post.

The Tiger defense held from there, as Cornell's best chance was a 78th minute tight-angle shot that glanced off the top of the woodwork and out of play.

Against Penn, McHugh's sixth-minute strike would be all Princeton needed to secure victory, as he latched onto a cross from sophomore right midfielder Ben Harms for the early lead. The assist was Harms' third for the season, tying him with sophomore midfielder Devin Muntz for the team lead.

The Tigers held the Quakers to only six shots for the 90 minutes, and Penn did not really threaten until the last eight minutes, when Walter was called on to preserve the one-goal margin. Penn counterattacked after a Princeton corner kick and followed with a flurry of shots shortly thereafter, but the Tiger goalkeeper stonewalled the comeback effort.

Princeton is now 3-1-1 in its last five games, a completely different team than the one that started the season with six straight losses. With increased success has come better morale, which is showing in both games and practice.

"[The team attitude has] been great actually," Walter said. "That's what really turned our season around from our 0-6 start. There is a lightness and just a better mood in practice. There's less pressure — we just have to go out and play every day."

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Some of the spark for the recent defensive stands has come from the team's freshmen, who only look to improve over the season's remainder.

"A bunch of freshmen have stepped up huge for us," Walter said. "[Defenders] Josh [Walburn] and Ben Burton are just two, but it certainly looks good for the next two games, and even looking ahead to next year."

The recent success has been especially good for Walter, however, who has struggled with injury this season and faced very stiff competition from freshman goalkeeper Sean Lynch. Walter relieved Lynch at halftime against St. John's on Oct. 17, and has played every minute since then.

"I do think it's my job to lose, but Sean stepped in when I was hurt and played well," Walter said. "So he's still pushing me, and by no means is anything certain for this year or next."

Both Fall Break wins allowed the Tigers to take a little revenge, as they lost to both Cornell and Penn a season ago. With the win, Princeton is only four points back from Ivy League-leaders Dartmouth and three back from second-place Brown. Brown has a game in hand after having its contest against Yale postponed.

Princeton remains in contention for the Ivy League crown, but only if Brown loses all three of its remaining contests — and the Bears are 4-0 in league play.

The Tigers' Senior Day is this Sunday against Yale, Princeton's final game of the season at Powers Field.