Princeton drops final non-league match

In its final non-conference game of the regular season, the men’s soccer team fell 2-0 at homeTuesdaynight to American University(6-7-5 overall, 3-3-2 Patriot League). It was the Tigers’ (6-8-1, 3-1-1 Ivy League) first shutout loss at Roberts Stadium since September.

The first half proved frustrating for the Tigers early on. Receiving his second start of the season, sophomore goalkeeper Ben Hummel received a challenge from American’s offense less than two minutes into the match. Just four minutes later, the Eagles found the back of the net, as senior midfielder Patrick Mehlert received a ball from 20 yards out and slipped through the Tigers’ defense to cap his third goal of the season. The rest of the half belonged to the Tigers, as Princeton put up five shots to American’s one over the last 25 minutes of the half. But the Tigers’ effort was to no avail, as the Eagles’ sophomore goalkeeper Dylan Hobert put up three saves to give American a 1-0 advantage at halftime.

The second half saw a continuation of the fast-paced tempo of the first half, with back-and-forth action that gave no clear advantage to either side. With 20 minutes left in the half, though, the Tigers surged, with sophomore forwards Thomas Sanner and Nico Hurtado creating several close opportunities for the equalizer.

“At halftime, we thought we had the game under control,” sophomore midfielder Andrew Doar said. “We came out in the second half and played uninspired soccer. If you look at the stat line, they had two shots on goal, both of which were goals. It especially hurts when you miss those breakaways because you work all game for those chances.”

The 77thminute mark saw the Tigers’ momentum come to a sudden halt, as a seemingly harmless free kick from American midfielder Charlie Hunter went untouched from 25 yards out and curled into the left side of the goal to give American a 2-0 lead. Hobert and American’s defense held strong through the remaining 10 minutes of the match, with Hobert denying a breakaway effort by the Tigers’ freshman midfielder Greg Seifert.

“Tonight was a disappointing performance, I think; we didn’t play with the intensity we needed,” Hurtado said. “Maybe it was because we are focused on winningon Saturdayat Penn. We started off slow, giving away an early goal, but then we played better in the first half. The second half we just didn’t play well.”

Now in the homestretch of the Ivy League season, the Tigers are shaking off the loss and looking forward to a must-win matchon Saturdayat Penn (6-8-1, 3-1-1). Anything other than a win will put the team’s chance of an Ivy League title and NCAA Tournament bid in serious doubt.

“All we need to focus on now is getting the three points on Saturday,” Hurtado said. “That’s our season, and we have to leave it all out on the fieldon Saturday.”

“Tonight’s loss is a good motivator for Saturday’s game against Penn,” Doar said. “We’ll see where we made mistakes tonight and get ready for them. One thing in particular is that we need to come out fast and come out straight from the tap.”