Rookies handle the scoring as Princeton men's soccer beats Delaware 3–0

In its latest match this season, Princeton men’s soccer (6–3, 0–1 Ivy League) defeated Delaware (2–4–3) by a score of 3–0. The game marked two significant milestones: first-year forward Spencer Fleurant’s first career two-goal game and first-year forward Daniel Diaz Bonilla’s first career goal.

Delaware’s Timo Hummrich had the first shot of the game five minutes into play but was denied by a skillful save from junior goalie Jack Roberts. An early goal by Diaz Bonilla, assisted by junior midfielder Frankie DeRosa, gave Princeton an early lead at nineteen minutes, a much-needed “cushion” in the words of head coach Jim Barlow ’91. Delaware continued to fight back ferociously. At halftime, the Fightin’ Blue Hens were outshooting Princeton 5–3, but Roberts prevented any equalizers with three separate saves.

Princeton began to pick up its pace in the second half, outshooting the Blue Hens 11–2. Sophomore forward Truman Gelnovatch shot twice in the same minute, with his second bouncing off the post, but neither came to fruition.

The next half hour saw a sustained attack, with several dogged attempts by the Tigers to finish the game off to no avail. They finally secured their second (and third) breakthrough at the 79-minute mark. After having his previous shot blocked by Delaware’s goalie Nick DeShong, Fleurant put the game away with two goals scored less than four minutes apart. He was assisted by sophomore midfielder Ryan Clare on the first and by Gelnovatch on the second.

All in all, Princeton outshot the Blue Hens 14–7, but also out-fouled them 14–12. Four yellow cards were awarded, two to each team. Princeton made 15 substitutions, whereas Delaware made none. The win saw the Tigers rise to a 6–3 record for the season.

Despite the win, Barlow believes the Tigers can do better. “The overall mentality today wasn’t great. We were frustrated that we were giving some balls away and that our passing game wasn’t as sharp as it usually was. As a group, I don’t think we dealt with it in a positive way by getting after it, working harder, and winning more balls back.”

That said, the second half saw significant improvement, with stellar performances from Bonilla and Roberts.

The team will face off against Brown in Providence this Saturday in its second Ivy League game of the season. After dropping the Ivy opener to Dartmouth, it will be a must-win to get back into the Ivy League race.