Men’s soccer downs Drexel 1-0

Looking for its second road win of the season, the men’s soccer team (2-2-2) came out of Philadelphia with a 1-0 victory on Wednesday evening against Drexel University (2-4-2). Junior forward Thomas Sanner’s conversion of a 53rd-minute penalty kick proved to be the deciding factor in a match where the Tigers’ dominance was not justified by the final score.

Until Wednesday night, the Tigers had struggled to find the consistency to play a full 90 minutes in a majority of their games. However, that trend was completely broken against Drexel, as the Tigers dominated the offensive and defensive sides of play for the entire match. On the offensive end, the Tigers dominated the first half of play, as they continually smothered the Dragons’ goalkeeper Tyler Afflerbach with chances that amounted to six shots compared to Drexel’s one through the first half of play. Princeton’s defense proved incredibly effective throughout, as strong speed and tackling from junior back Josh Miller, senior midfielder Joe Saitta and others kept the ball in the Tigers’ possession throughout the first half. Despite total control of the play, Princeton found itself deadlocked and on its way to its third draw of the year after the 45th minute expired.

However, that changed just eight minutes into the second half, as Princeton was awarded a penalty kick after Sanner was dragged down inside the box near the 18-yard mark. His blast from the penalty spot found the bottom left of the goal, giving the Tigers the lead for the rest of the match. The Tigers continued to dominate play, however, as they matched their first-half performance with six additional shots, and the defense continued to stand tall as it only allowed four shots over the final 45 minutes of play. The Tigers’ defense and ball control was so strong that junior goalkeeper Ben Hummel did not have to make a single save as he recorded his second shutout of the season. Desperate for stronger performances and victories before their season begins Oct. 4, the Tigers found their effort at Drexel to be exactly what they needed.

“It was the most complete game of the year for us in terms of playing well the entire 90 minutes,” junior forward Nico Hurtado said. “We could have won by more goals, but we’re happy that we got the win and are ready for our next five games at home. We feel really comfortable in our new formation.”

“We came out much better than we have in the previous few games,” Miller said. “Our intensity was really good from the start, and we created pretty decent opportunities the whole game. Most importantly, though, we held a shutout after giving up a bunch of goals recently. We know we have a ton of talent up the field, so if we can keep teams from scoring, we are going to come away with a lot of wins.”

The Tigers next face-off against Binghamton University, which commences the Tigers’ five-game home stand from Sept. 27 to Oct. 14. Kickoff against Binghamton is set for Saturday at 4:00 pm at Roberts Stadium.