Men's Soccer: Tigers run win streak to 6

The men’s soccer team earned a 3-0 victory over Lafayette in Easton, Pa., on Tuesday night. The Tigers (7-3-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) overwhelmed Lafayette (5-5-2) on offense and defense throughout the game.The offense continued its trend of putting on a show, scoring three goals for the sixth consecutive game and helping the team to extend its win streak to six.

Play was slow through most of the first half due to thick grass. Neither team saw any set pieces in the line of the goal or any golden scoring opportunities in the regular course of play through the first 40 minutes of the game.

With three minutes left in the first half, senior defender Teddy Schneider played a quick give-and-go with junior midfielder Colby Hahn at the top of the box, leaving him with a wide-open look at goal from 12 yards out. Schneider buried the shot, giving Princeton a much-needed lead going into the end of the first half.

“We wanted to make sure we kept the lead,” senior forward Brandon Busch explained. “We wanted to get the second and third goals and put [Lafayette] out of the game. We’ve been doing that really well recently.”

Princeton’s defensive combination of freshman Chris Benedict, sophomore Mark Linnville, senior Benjamin Burton and senior Teddy Schneider as the back four did not allow any shots on goal in the first half. The Tigers were confident and still controlling play as the halftime whistle blew.

“The defense made it really easy for the offense to push forward,” Busch said. “When your defense is playing that well, the rest of the team has a lot of confidence. As a whole, our defense has really come a long way.”

The Leopards’ best scoring opportunity of the game was a close-range shot by Lafayette senior forward Sam Feldbaum in the 51st minute. Senior goalkeeper Sean Lynch got behind the shot, making the save and preserving Princeton’s shutout.

The Tigers continued their aggressive attitude going into the second half, and the offensive momentum continued when Princeton notched a second goal in the 53rd minute. Freshman midfielder Patrick O’Neil won a tackle on the right side of the field about 25 yards from goal and penetrated the Leopard defensive back line with speed and a series of clean touches. He took a high shot from just inside the penalty box that struck the cross bar and bounced down just behind the goal line.

“We’ve been getting a lot of goals on crosses and corners lately, but it was nice to see how we can also score goals during the run of play,” Busch said.

Busch delivered the nail in the coffin — Princeton’s third and final goal — in the 87th minute. Busch played a quick one-two pass with freshman midfielder Dylan Bowman on the right side of the field and then took off for the center of the box. He redirected Bowman’s pass with a screaming left-footed shot to the far post from just inside the box.

“We definitely controlled the tempo of the game,” Busch explained. “We tried to push it as much as the field would let us.”