Tigers will take on Red Storm in season opener

After suffering a heartbreaking double-overtime loss against Fairleigh Dickinson University in its first match of the regular season, the men’s soccer team (0-1-0) will look to rebound on Wednesday night as it takes on St. John’s University (0-3-1) in its 2014 home opener. A win would set the Tigers in a new direction from past years, as they are 1-4 in their last five home openers. What’s more, it was on September 28, 2011 that Princeton last hosted St. John’s at Roberts Stadium. Tied at two apiece in double overtime, the then-No. 15 Red Storm shocked the Tigers by scoring with 4.2 seconds remaining on the clock to seal the win on the road. The Tigers struggled against St. John’s in 2012 and 2013 as well, as they were shutout in consecutive road losses.

But this Princeton team is a different beast from past years. Senior forward Cameron Porter, who scored both of Princeton’s goals in the team’s 2011 loss to St. John’s, showed that he’s as big a scoring threat as ever, as he put away the Tigers’ first goal of the year in the match against FDU. On the defensive end, junior back Josh Miller leads a defense that held teams to under 10 shots per game last season. Miller was also named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year by Fred Welser’s College Sports Madness Preseason selections. With a number of veterans returning to the roster, the Tigers believe that a win against St. John’s is more than feasible.

“I’d say that we are very confident going into the game,” junior forward Thomas Sanner said. “St. John’s has had our number the past two years, and we want to change that.”

In addition to the strength of the Tigers’ roster, St. John’s has had a slow start to its own season. In its first four games, the Red Storm has suffered three shutout losses — on the road at West Virginia University and Penn State, and at home against Syracuse University. Against Hofstra University, though, St. John’s demonstrated the grit that the Tigers know they will be up against on Wednesday night, as the Red Storm erased a two-goal deficit in the second half to draw 2-2. Sophomore Dela Agbotse demonstrated the offensive power that St. John’s possesses, as he scored the team’s first goal of the year. Senior Tim Parker’s goal also showed the offensive power that St. John’s can generate from its defensemen. With a combination of talent and hunger to find a winning way, St. John’s will be more than a challenge for the Tigers when it comes to Roberts Stadium.

“St. John’s is yet to win this year, so they will come in desperate for a win,” Sanner said. “And we will have to match that intensity from the start. We look forward to the challenge and hopefully getting our first win of the season. We think we have a very deep and experienced squad that is ready to make a deep run into the tournament.”

Despite the loss to FDU to start the season, Sanner is hopeful that the squad can use the game as a building block to move in the right direction as the Ivy season quickly approaches.

“We thought we had a good game against FDU and were unfortunate to lose on three set piece goals after being up 2-0,” Sanner said. “But it is something that we have to learn from and also use to make us hungrier to win going into Wednesday and the rest of the season.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening at Roberts Stadium.