Against No. 16 Loyola on Wednesday night, the men’s soccer team ran into the same problem it has struggled with through the first half of the season: great opportunities, no goals.
The Greyhounds (7-0-1 overall) defeated the Tigers, 1-0, in a rainy, evenly contested battle. Princeton (2-6) “dictated the tempo of the game,” head coach Jim Barlow ’91 said, but couldn’t find the back of the net. This was the Tigers’ third loss to a ranked opponent this season.
Princeton went shot for shot with Loyola through halftime, but Loyola gained momentum during the second half, culminating in midfielder Eddie Dines’ goal in the 77th minute.
The Tigers created multiple scoring opportunities for themselves. Both teams ended with eight shots apiece, but the Tigers had seven quality shots on Loyola’s goal, while the Greyhounds only had three on Princeton’s. The Tigers also forced twice as many corner kicks as Loyola.
“Offensively, we are getting ourselves in very good positions to score goals,” Barlow said, “but it’s been hard for us to finish off those crosses or find ways to just get loose balls in the box.”
The Tigers’ shot percentage is only .077, whereas their opponents have a .125 shot percentage against them. Despite these frustrations, Barlow is optimistic about the offense in future games.
“[Junior forward] Ben Harms has gotten a lot of great crosses in, [and sophomore midfielder] Teddy Schneider has gotten some good crosses in,” Barlow said. “I think we can all sense that it’s coming. We just need to keep generating as many chances as we have and keep our confidence, and I think it’s going to come.”
On the other hand, the Tiger defense was remarkably solid, allowing only one shot on goal during the second half. Unfortunately for Tiger fans, that shot was the well-placed header that swished past senior goalkeeper Joe Walter to give the Greyhounds the lead.
“We put a lot of pressure on the defense the longer we go without scoring,” Barlow said.
The win keeps Loyola without a tally in the loss column and drops Princeton to 1-4 away from home.
Luckily for the Tigers, Princeton will return home to Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium to face No. 17 Dartmouth (5-2) on Saturday in its Ivy League opener.
The first half of the Tigers’ season does not count toward their league standing and only served to ready the team for its Ivy schedule.
“The important thing now is that we look at it as starting our season on Saturday,” Barlow said. “[We tested ourselves during] the first half of the season with non-league games against the best teams in the country. We’re hoping that the lessons we’ve learned from those games have prepared us for the Ivy games.”
After the Tigers’ Chicago trip earlier in the season ? in which they suffered a 2-0 loss to then-No. 11 Illinois-Chicago and a 1-0 defeat at the hands of then-No. 9 Northwestern ? Princeton has learned its share of tough lessons. The Tigers have outshot their opponents, including Northwestern, by a slim margin but have been outscored, 11-7.
“Hopefully having scheduled so many top-20 teams early in the year will be something that gives us a lot of experience as we go into the Ivy games,” Barlow said.
Princeton is not the only Ivy team that has played ranked opponents, however. Dartmouth suffered a 2-1 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame earlier this fall but followed the loss with a 4-0 trouncing of No. 6 Indiana. The Big Green is 1-2 on the road, though, a factor that may work to the Tigers’ advantage, especially considering the large crowd expected for the stadium dedication at halftime.
Dartmouth boasts a strong defense that has only allowed five goals this season, but the team’s strength isn’t limited to its defense. The Big Green can also count on forwards Lucky Mkosana and Craig Henderson, who have together scored six goals and notched two assists.
“They [have] some guys up front that you really have to worry about,” Barlow said. “[Mkosana and Henderson] are both very good forwards and we’ve got to keep track of those guys.”
This matchup of experienced Ivy foes could help Princeton set the tone for the rest of its conference schedule, but the Tiger offense will have to find a way capitalize on its scoring opportunities.
“We definitely know that we can play with anybody,” Barlow said. “Now it’s going to be interesting to see if we can take the next step and start finishing these plays off and win these games.”
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