Men's Soccer: Nare scores two in win

Brown (7-1-2, 1-1) came into the game ranked No. 13 in the nation, and goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand had allowed just one goal all season. The Bears also entered the game with a five-game winning streak, during which they scored a total of 11 goals. Princeton head coach Jim Barlow, however, made it clear that his team was not intimidated.

“The rankings don’t mean anything until the end of the year,” Barlow said. “We know we can play with anybody, and we know anyone can beat us if we’re not sharp. Brown’s very good at a lot of the things we’re good at: defending, getting forward quickly and capitalizing on their chances.”

Early in the game, Brown appeared to be in its comfort zone, dominating possession and amassing three corner kicks in the first 10 minutes. The Bears had their best scoring opportunity in the 14th minute, when forward Sean Rosa — waiting inside the box by the left post — received a spot-on line drive pass but headed it straight into the crossbar.

On Princeton’s next possession, junior forward Antoine Hoppenot was fouled while bringing the ball downfield. Senior defender Teddy Schneider took the restart and launched it out to sophomore forward Matt Sanner on the right side of the box. Sanner’s header made it past two defenders, which allowed sophomore midfielder Lester Nare to kick it into an open goal. Though Grandstrand appealed to the referee for an offside call, it was clear that the ball had been deflected by a Brown defender before reaching Nare.

“We knew restarts were going to be big for us today,” Nare said. “In the box, that’s where I thrive. As soon as that ball dropped, I was like, ‘This is mine.’ It’s that mentality — not necessarily technique — that puts the ball in the net.”

Nare also scored the Tigers’ third and last goal of the afternoon, heading a pass from Schneider past a leaping Grandstrand with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Senior goalkeeper Sean Lynch made three saves to aid in the win, but was taken out of the game in the 68th minute after colliding with a Brown forward. Fortunately sophomore goalie Max Gallin stepped in to keep the Tigers afloat, making two saves in the final 22 minutes.

Schneider was credited with assists on all three goals scored on Saturday, the highest total of his career.

“He’s been great all year. He’s just so steady. He’s got a great way of knowing where the next play needs to go,” Barlow said of Schneider. “He plays left back, and it’s not a glamour position, but he’s been so important to us.”

“I have to give all the credit to the guys who got on the end of those balls,” Schneider said. “They were really fighting in there and battling for every head ball. As long as I was putting them in good spots, they were always going to be there, and they did a really good job of putting them away.”

Schneider’s second assist of the night came 14 minutes into the second half, he received a leading pass from junior midfielder Colby Hahn down the right sideline. Schneider took his defender down almost to the post before crossing it left. Sophomore defender Mark Linnville anticipated the cross perfectly and headed it down inside the left post for the first goal of his Princeton career.

“My head was just there, and I was able to place it into the bottom left corner,” Linnville said. “I don’t know how to celebrate goals so I just kind of ran around for a little bit.”

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When the final whistle blew, the Tigers certainly had a lot to celebrate. After receiving an at-large bid to last year’s NCAA tournament, the win put Princeton one step closer to securing an automatic bid with an Ivy League championship.

“Each game is a do-or-die scenario,” Linnville said. “Every game is a message for us to show the league that we’re up there and that we’re trying to win an Ivy League title.”