Men's Soccer: Princeton to play Richmond, Adelphi at home

Though ranked as an upper-echelon team by various preseason polls, Princeton now finds itself looking back on a four-game winless streak following an opening-game win. Last weekend’s matches against strong Big East foes netted a 1-1 draw with Georgetown and a 2-0 defeat at Villanova. Still, the Tigers seem determined to improve as the season progresses.

“It’s a little frustrating, but we know what we need to do,” sophomore midfielder Lester Nare said. “There’s an excitement by the team to get back in the swing of things.”

Senior forward Brandon Busch was undeterred by the recent skid. “We’re not getting down on ourselves,” he said. “It’s early, and we know we have the potential to do well.”

Because several injuries kept key players out of practice early in the season, the Tigers have been unable to develop the consistency and game chemistry necessary for a team game like soccer. Nare stressed that the team worked on getting all three lines — defense, midfield and attack — on the same page during practice this week.

“We struggled with injuries early on, which put a damper on how we got prepared in the preseason,” Nare said. “It hurt our cohesion as a team.”

One of those previously injured players, senior midfielder Josh Walburn, returned to the starting lineup last weekend after missing the first part of the season. He contributed immediately, coming off the bench to lead the team with five shots against Georgetown. He then recorded three shots against Villanova, including two on goal. He will try to spark the Tigers to their first victory in almost three weeks.

“It’s good to see him out there, making sure he’s all right and ready to go,” Busch said.

The Tiger offense appears ready to explode in the near future. The squad has taken more shots than its opponents, but just a third of those have been on goal — a poor ratio compared to its opponents, who have shot on goal half of the time.

“It shows promise that we’re getting to the attack and putting the defense under pressure,” Busch explained of the accuracy issues. “The goals are going to come as long as we’re getting shots off.”

Junior forwards Antoine Hoppenot and Manny Sardinha account for almost a third of the team’s shots, and look to push the Tigers’ offense to victory. Aiding the attack is sophomore forward Matt Sanner, who led the squad against Villanova with five shots.

Defensively, senior goalkeeper and captain Sean Lynch pushed his save percentage up to an impressive .750 on the year, buoyed by a career-high seven saves against Georgetown. The Tigers’ back line, led by senior Teddy Schneider and sophomore Mark Linville, remains one of the team’s power positions.

Against Richmond, the Tigers will face a team with a similar record but in a vastly different position. The Spiders (1-4-1) have been outscored 11-2 in their last four games — all losses — and have taken far fewer shots than their opponents. However, their offense features a balanced attack, as six different players have scored once. That offense will have to balance a defense that allows more than two goals a game.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Adelphi, on the other hand, enters the tournament coming off consecutive blowout wins. The Panthers (4-2), led by midfielder Alexander Kouznetsov, have allowed only three goals this season and have notched four shutout victories.

Penn will also participate in the Princeton Invitational this weekend in Roberts Stadium. The tournament will feature back-to-back games on Friday and on Sunday.