With a beaming sun and a large crowd in the stands at Roberts Stadium, Princeton men’s soccer (8–1–0 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) shut out the Brown Bears (5–3–1 overall, 1–1 Ivy) with a final score of 1–0 on Saturday.
From the whistle, the Tigers pressed into the Bears’ half, firing shots on frame just minutes into the game.
One such shot was attempted by junior attacker Bardia Hormozi.
“We knew the keeper was going to bobble the ball, so I just tried getting it on target,” he told The Daily Princetonian.
The Tigers outpaced the Bears 20–7 on shots and more than doubled their shots on goal for the game. With most of the action on the Bears’ end of the field, junior goalkeeper Andrew Samuels had a strong back line and faced few critical chances.
“On the few chances they got, the four guys in front of me are going to lock down,” said Samuels, showcasing why he’s been named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week three weeks running.
Despite the barrage of shots, it wasn’t until the 32nd minute that the Tigers finally managed to put the ball in the back of the net. From roughly ten yards outside the box, junior midfielder Liam Beckwith served up a ball that was powerfully headed by Hormozi. As the ball was deflected toward the near post by the Brown goalie, Hormozi followed up and rifled the rebound past the goalie.
The Bears earned a corner in the 35th minute, but it was cleared by first-year midfielder Tyler Vilet.
Nearing the end of the first half, the excitement was not over. An error by Brown’s keeper in the 39th minute led to an open goal opportunity for the Tigers from a tight angle. Just inches from putting the Tigers up by two, senior forward Will Francis slapped the ground in frustration.
Head Coach Jim Barlow expressed confidence in his defense in a postgame comment to the ‘Prince.’ “I thought our guys have gotten good at just closing the door and making it hard for teams to come back,” Barlow said. That’s exactly what the Tigers did in the second half.
The Bears, still trailing, became more aggressive, which led to a physical 45 minutes. There were six total yellow cards, four of which were issued to Brown. Still, their physicality was no match for Princeton’s defense.
In the 80th minute, senior captain and defender Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch executed a deft sliding tackle in the box, putting a commanding stop to one of the few opportunities the Bears had in the game. A rapid Tiger counter led to a shot across the goal by first-year forward Jackson Martin, which rolled just past the far post.
On the other end, Brown’s best chance to equalize came with under two minutes left in the match. Following a Princeton foul at midfield, the Bears worked the ball down the near side of the field.
On attack for the Bears, defender Isaiah Robledo received a ball on the edge of the box and fired a shot and a cross that required a leaping save by Samuels. The rebound fell in favor of the Bears, but Beckwith’s outstretched leg deflected Brown’s volley, saving a potential game-tying goal.
The clock wound down without much more incident, and the Tigers extended their streak to eight consecutive wins.
After the tight triumph, the Tigers will rest for the week before heading up to Ithaca to take on the Cornell Big Red (7–1-0, 2–0 Ivy) on Saturday in a battle for bragging rights in the Ivy League.
Xavier Latimer is a Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections@dailyprincetonian.com.
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