Men's Soccer: Powerful Bears next chance at league victory

Junior midfielder and captain Devin Muntz said that the team is set to “get after Brown, bury them early and show the league what we’re all about.”

It won’t be easy. Brown (7-2-1 overall , 1-0 Ivy League) consistently finishes toward the top of the Ivy League, and the Tigers (2-7-1, 0-0-1) have had a rough start to the season.

Led by defender Rhett Bernstein and midfielder Jon Okafor, who have combined for seven of the team’s 12 goals this year, Brown has overwhelmed quality teams all season.

Bernstein will be of particular concern to the Tigers. In recent weeks, he has been named College Soccer News National Player of the Week, Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week and Ivy League Player of the Week. He was also named to Soccer America’s Men’s Team of the Week. Before the season began, Soccer America named Bernstein to its second-team All-American squad.

Princeton, on the other hand, has had a tense season so far, dropping two non-league matches in overtime. The Tigers have fallen in three close meetings with top-25 teams.

“We keep coming close … we haven’t been able to finish, but we know we’re going to get a big one,” Muntz said.

That “big one” could come in a felling of the Bears, who have beaten the Tigers three years in a row.

Brown finished last season ranked No. 11 in the country and won the Ivy League. Muntz said the Bears squad is similar to last year’s, characterized by an intimidating corps of defenders.

“They’ll work hard,” he said. “They’ve been able to get some really good wins this year.”

Brown is coming off a 1-0 victory over woeful Bryant University (1-12-1) and is in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak. During the streak, the Bears have allowed only one goal.

Muntz insists that the Tigers have to focus on their own game and style of play, however.

“We need to focus on how we’ve been playing,” Muntz said. “We are not changing our game to cater to them.”

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Still, the Tigers will need big games from their stars to stay with Brown. Sophomore midfielder Brandon Busch leads the team with six points, and Muntz noted that sophomore midfielder Teddy Schneider and freshman midfielder Antoine Hoppenot are important to the team’s success.

Schneider and sophomore defender Josh Walburn have each notched two goals so far.

Princeton will need to “be organized defensively on set pieces … and watch for [Brown’s] long throw-ins,” Muntz said.

The Tigers tied Dartmouth in Princeton on Oct. 4 to kick off their Ivy season. Brown, meanwhile, defeated Columbia at home in its first Ivy matchup.

The Tiger mentality going into Saturday is to treat this game as a fresh start, Muntz explained.

“Our season starts with the Ivy League,” Muntz said. “After last weekend, if we win this weekend, we should be in the driver’s seat for the league … It should be a tough battle.”