Princeton (5-9-2 overall, 2-2-2 Ivy League) battled to a 0-0 double-overtime tie with No. 21 Penn (10-2-4, 4-1-1) on a rainy Saturday afternoon in its last home game of the season. With the tie, any glimmer of hope for another Tiger coronation — the field hockey team secured its crown on Friday, and the women’s soccer team earned a share of its title just 24 hours later — was officially extinguished.
Though there were no goals registered, the double-overtime thriller was a highly entertaining contest filled with tense moments and scoring opportunities.
“If you look at the game, both teams should have scored a few,” head coach Jim Barlow ’91 said. “It was wide open. Either team could have scored.”
The first opportunity for either side came about 28 minutes into the first half, when Princeton repossessed the ball after one of senior goalkeeper Joe Walter’s many saves.
Junior midfielder and captain Devin Muntz sent a great pass to freshman forward Antoine Hoppenot. Quaker goalkeeper Drew Healy came out of the goal box a bit hesitantly and failed to take the ball away from Hoppenot. Hoppenot tried to maneuver back toward the goal to get a shot off, but the Penn defenders did an excellent job staying between him and the net, allowing Healy to recover. Hoppenot then crossed the ball to streaking sophomore midfielder Teddy Schneider, whose shot went wide of the net.
The Tigers finished the first half with four shots to Penn’s three. As the game went on, however, both teams became more aggressive, seeking that elusive first goal.
The fireworks started quickly in the second half, when Penn midfielder Alex Grendi took a free kick from the top of Princeton’s 18-yard box. He went straight for the kill, sending a perfectly centered shot to the very top of the net, just beneath the crossbar.
Walter was there to make the save. Leaping up with arms outstretched, Walter managed to punch enough of the ball to force it over the top of the net, leading to a Quaker corner kick that Princeton ultimately defended.
It was one of six fantastic saves by Walter on the day.
“Joe had a great game,” Barlow said. “Grendi’s free kick, making the save was huge. He moved his feet along the line really well today.”
The Tigers came right back with their own set play in the 58th minute. Sophomore forward Brandon Busch was fouled just outside the 18-yard box, leading to a free kick for sophomore defender Josh Walburn. Walburn sent a great shot around the wall to the bottom-left corner of Penn’s goal, but a diving Healy was there to meet him and preserve the tie.
The Quakers had their own open-net opportunity with about 10 minutes left in regulation. Forward Omid Shokoufandeh dribbled to the right of Walter, who came out to try to take away the ball. Shokoufandeh flicked the ball back to the middle of goal box to forward Andrew Ferry, but his pressured shot went wide of the net.
As the second half wound down, Hoppenot created another great opportunity. With the ball to the left of Penn’s goal, Hoppenot used a beautiful spin move to get around a Quaker defender. As the defense collapsed on him, he threaded a sharp pass to Busch, whose attempt sailed just wide of the left side of the goal.
The two 10-minute overtimes featured much of the same high-octane play. The best chance for a Princeton goal came late in the second overtime. Junior forward Ben Harms carried the ball up-field, danced across the top of Penn’s 18-yard box and tried to cross it. The attempt was deflected from the goal, but Walburn took possession and fired off a shot. Healy, however, was there to make the save.
The Quakers did not register a shot on goal in either overtime.
Despite being outshot 17-13, the Tigers frustrated and dominated Penn for long stretches of play. Princeton players were everywhere, working hard for contested balls and breaking up Quaker passes.
“For a good stretch, we did,” Barlow said of the Tigers’ efforts to frustrate Penn. “We were good going forward, but we couldn’t be careless with possession of the ball too much. To be honest, towards the end of the game, I think we were giving away the ball too much.”
Overall, the Tiger defense did a fantastic job, putting the clamps on a team that averages more than two goals and two assists a game.
Noticeably absent from the action was the Quakers’ star, Shokoufandeh, who registered only one shot. Shokoufandeh is second in the league in points per game and goals per game. Five of his scores this season have been game-winners.
The Tigers, however, benefited from the return of sophomore defender Ben Burton, who had been out with an injury.
“I think [Saturday] showed how much we missed Ben Burton,” Barlow said. “He was injured for those two games [against Harvard and Brown]. The results may have been different if we had had him.”
Princeton’s last game of the season comes next Saturday in its matchup against Yale.
For the Tigers, it has been a season filled with almosts. Princeton has held its own against two of the top teams in the country — Northwestern and Illinois-Chicago — but could not find a way to finish the game.
That trend continued against another top team, Penn, on Saturday afternoon. Fortunately for Princeton, most of its talented core is several years away from graduation.
Though better than its 5-9-2 record suggests, the team now must wait until next fall to make good on its considerable potential.
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