Fourteen OT seconds decide match

The men’s soccer team’s offensive struggles continued as the Tigers (1-5 overall) fell 1-0 in overtime at Monmouth (4-1-1) on Thursday afternoon. After an emotional 90 minutes of scoreless play, the Hawks wasted little time winning, as Chase Barbieri netted the game-winner on a one-timer following a deflected shot by senior goalie Joe Walter 14 seconds into overtime.

The shutout comes only one week before the Tigers are set to begin their Ivy League schedule and is a troubling sign that their offense is still lagging behind the defense.

From the start, the game was an intense defensive battle. Princeton only surrendered three shots in the first half, none of which were on target. The Tigers, however, were unable to muster a single shot of their own. The offenses heated up in the second half, as Princeton took six shots and Monmouth managed five, but Walter and Hawks’ goalie Bryan Meredith remained impenetrable.

Then came the overtime period, which capped the relatively lackluster game with a flurry. Ryan Kinne and Rob LaRocca fired shots at Walter, who stonewalled them both, but LaRocca fed the free ball to a waiting Barbieri, who ended the game.

“We had a lot of chances on goal, and for the most part no one wants to get on the end of it. There just wasn’t enough offensive tenacity,” sophomore midfielder Teddy Schneider said.

Next up on the schedule for the Tigers is another in-state road trip to visit Fairleigh Dickinson (4-2) on Sunday afternoon. Though a strong defensive performance will be essential if the Tigers are to have a successful season, the key to winning this weekend will rest on Princeton’s ability to put points on the board. In their five losses, the Tigers have scored a total of two goals and were shut out three times. In the team’s sole victory over Seton Hall, the Tigers went on an offensive explosion and amassed three goals in a 17-minute span. The Tigers must replicate that tenacity and focus if they are to come out on top on the road this weekend. Fairleigh Dickinson is coming off a 3-2 victory over Lehigh, and its attack has scored a total of 14 goals this season.

Princeton played the Mountain Hawks in its season opener, losing the contest, 2-1. Lehigh outshot the Tigers 20-17. In contrast, the Mountain Hawks put up 21 shots and 10 corners to the Knights’ nine and five, respectively.Fairleigh Dickinson is led by standout freshman Paul King, who won his third Brine/NEC Rookie of the Week award on Monday. He leads the Northeast Conference in goals with six, and the Knights are 4-0 in games in which he scores.

With only two games left on the schedule before the men’s soccer team kicks off its Ivy League season, the Tigers have come a long way since August. Minor tune-ups on the offensive and defensive fronts will be necessary, however, in Princeton’s last two games before heading into Ivy play.

“I think we’ve been playing pretty well — a few small mistakes here and there,” Schneider said. “We let up a couple of soft goals. If we just fix the little things, I think we should be well prepared for the Ivy League season.”

The defense will need to continue its strong play, and Walter’s play in goal will be of the utmost importance as the offense continues to find its identity. Head coach Jim Barlow ’91 has experimented with a number of different combinations of forwards but has yet to find the perfect set. If Princeton can solve this little dilemma in a timely manner, the Ivy League might just have an orange-and-black surprise lurking in the jungle.