Men's Soccer: Tigers sit third in Ivy League

In keeping with form from Ivy League competition last season, No. 15 Dartmouth and Penn currently have the fourth and fifth best overall records in the league, respectively, and they trail No. 8 Harvard, No. 25 Brown and Princeton. Yale and Cornell lag behind the reigning champions, while Columbia has struggled through the early part of the season, remaining in last place.

Princeton (4-1 overall) started the season without a blemish until a 1-0 loss to No. 14 Monmouth on Sunday. The Tigers kicked off the season on the road, besting Lehigh, Seton Hall and American before returning home for the Princeton Tournament, where they topped Fairleigh Dickinson in a game for the ages. With 0.8 seconds left in the second overtime of that game, junior midfielder Teddy Schneider converted a penalty kick to make the final score 2-1.

Two days later, though, the team fell to Monmouth. Currently, junior defender Josh Walburn is third in the league with five goals, and he leads in game-winners, with three.

Brown

The Bears (4-0-1) have started the season impressively, having yet to drop a game. Kicking off their season at home against Lehigh, the Bears tied the Mountain Hawks, but then reeled off four straight wins against Southern Methodist University, Adelphi, Bryant and Rhode Island.

Brown has only allowed one goal so far this season — in the tie with Lehigh — on the back of standout goalie Paul Grandstrand, who has a save percentage of .909.

Columbia

Starting the season in North Carolina, the Lions (1-4-0) fell by one goal at the hands of two top-25 teams, No. 12 Duke and No. 16 North Carolina State.

Back in New York, Columbia topped Long Island before falling back into a rut with losses to St. Peter’s and No. 19 Boston University.

A frequent victim of opponents’ forwards, Columbia remains second to last in goals allowed and is the only squad yet to post a shutout.

Cornell

Though the Big Red (3-2-1) started the season with a tough 2-1 loss at Syracuse, it rebounded admirably by beating Hartwick, tying Canisius and topping St. Bonaventure before falling to Monmouth and then beating Fairleigh Dickinson.

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Goalie Scott Brody has had to deal with a porous defense, leading the league with nearly six saves per game while allowing eight goals.

Dartmouth

The highly ranked Big Green (4-1-1) started off its season on a tear at home with a 7-0 win over St. Peter’s and a 1-0 victory over Northeastern before tying Connecticut. The team continued its success until a Sunday loss to Loyola Marymount.

Midfielder Daniel Keat has scored six goals this season, good enough to be tied for first in the league.

Harvard

The Crimson (5-0) has sprinted its way into the national top 10 by running through a slate of overmatched opponents in the early going this season. Forward Andre Akpan leads the league with 1.2 goals per game. He also leads the league in assists, with four, closely followed by fellow Crimson forward Brian Rogers.

As if the Crimson’s high-powered offense were not enough, goalie Austin Harms is second in the league with a 0.42 goals-against average.

Penn

It took the Quakers (3-1-2) four games to notch their first win — at San Diego — but they have not lost or allowed a goal since then. Having a balanced offense has helped Penn so far, as it has notched the third most goals in the league, with 12, while also allowing the second most.

Yale

The Bulldogs (2-2-2) started off its season on a bad foot. With two straight ties and a loss before the middle of the month, the Bulldogs’ season seemed to be in trouble. But with back-to-back wins since then, they have salvaged their campaign and are back in contention.