Despite being in unfamiliar territory, the Tigers found a way to do what they’ve been doing all year.
On Thursday night, No. 3 men’s soccer (14–1–2 overall, 7–0 Ivy League) defeated the Harvard Crimson (6–6–5, 2–3–2) 3–1 to advance to the Ivy League tournament final, where they will play No. 20 Cornell (13–2–2, 5–1–1).
“It’s a confident group,” Head Coach Jim Barlow ’91 told The Daily Princetonian. “Nothing seems to rattle them. They really enjoy the challenges. It’s an experienced group that has a lot of confidence.”
The Big Red defeated Penn (8–5–4, 3–2–2) 1–0 in the other semifinal to set up a rematch with the Orange and Black. Earlier this season, Princeton defeated Cornell 2–0 in Ithaca.
After the Tigers conceded their first goal in the run of play all season, they stayed calm and kept applying pressure on the Crimson. A late first-half equalizer from senior defender and captain Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch tied the game heading into the halftime break.
“I thought our guys responded to it really well,” Barlow said. “Even before we gave up the goal, I thought we were off to a good start.”
Coming out of halftime, a first career goal from sophomore defender Dash Papez and a spot kick from senior forward Daniel Ittycheria sealed a 3–1 win for Princeton. Both sides had a combined 42 shots, with the Tigers leading the shots on target battle 10 to five in a game that saw end-to-end action.
In goal, junior goalie Andrew Samuels made four saves. Samuels was named the Ivy League defensive player of the year on Wednesday morning and has 11 shutouts in 2025, a program record.
After a fast start, a ball from Crimson defender Tim Langenbahn found fellow defender Alejandro Palacio, who played the ball into forward Adam Poliakov, whose shot got past the outstretched arms of Samuels.
Poliakov — the Ivy League rookie of the year — has been one of the most in-form players in the country with six goals in the last games.
“I thought we were combative and tough,” Harvard Head Coach Josh Shapiro told the ‘Prince’. “But we felt like we could find some opportunities in transition, and we executed really well on the transition and took the lead.”
For the Tigers, it marked the first time they trailed in Ivy play since the 2024 Ivy League tournament. Throughout the course of league play, the Orange and Black outscored the remainder of the Ancient Eight 12–0.
“I was happy the guys were unphased,” Papez said. “We just got right back on the front foot.”
The Tigers’ best chance came in the ninth minute, when junior midfielder/forward Bardia Hormozi picked up the ball in the attacking end, but his shot sailed wide. In the 16th minute, Poliakov nearly doubled its load, but Samuels was there to deny the shot from the Ukrainian native.
From there on, it was all Tigers on offense. Shots from senior midfielder Sam Vigilante and first year forward Jackson Martin were comfortably saved by Harvard goalie Cullen MacNeil.
“I think we just had to keep working and tighten things up in the back, do a better job organizing and managing their counterattack,” Papez said.
The Tigers eight corner of the game finally paid off as Whitchurch was in the right place at the right time. A ball played in by senior defender Jack Jasinski landed in front of Whitchurch, who put the ball in the back of the net for his second career goal.
“We hadn’t scored on a corner kick in a while … so it was really good to see us get two on corners,” Barlow said. “On the day where the offense was struggling to get a goal, [Whitchurch and Papez] put it on their shoulders to do that too.”
Barlow emphasized the importance of the “little details” at this point in the season.
At halftime, the visitors were lucky to be equalized with the Tigers. The Tigers had 69 percent possession, 16 total shots to the Crimson’s six, and seven shots on target.
“They’re relentless. Their energy and their pace and their drive to go forward from so many players is so impressive,” Shapiro said. “They were determined to get back in it. They have a lot of belief and quality.”
Coming out of the locker room, the Tigers were quick to get back on the attack. After an awkward deflection, the Tigers scored off their ninth corner kick of the game.
A corner played into the box got on the foot of junior forward Kevin Kelley who flicked it onto Papez. Papez was able to beat MacNeil for his first career goal.
“That was a great one,” Papez said. “I’ve been trying to get one all year … so it was great to finally get one, especially in a moment like that.”
Minutes later, it was Ittycheria in transition. One on nobody with MacNeil, Ittycheria was brought down by Langenbahn. The third VAR check was the charm for Princeton, who was awarded a penalty.
Ittycheria — the Ivy League offensive player of the year — converted the penalty kick for his ninth goal of the season. For the Orange and Black, it marked their third goal in 11 minutes of game time.
In the 75th minute, Samuels’s quick reflexes held the Crimson at one. The last 15 minutes saw yellow cards issued to both sides, but the Tigers held on for a 3–1 win and a trip to the Ivy League tournament final.
For the Crimson, their NCAA season likely comes to an end. After starting the season with just three wins in their opening nine games, the Crimson had one loss in their last seven regular season games.
“I think if you look at our body of work against NCAA caliber teams, we believe we’re right there,” Shapiro said. “If they wanna give us a shake, we’d love to take the invitation.”
Princeton and Cornell will kick off Sunday at 11 a.m. Currently No. 1 in RPI — one of the primary factors in the seeding process for the NCAA tournament — the Tigers will make a strong case for the No. 1 seed in this year’s College Cup if they are able to prevail over the Big Red Sunday afternoon.
“The recovery is huge, so we’re gonna have to spend our time wisely,” Papez said. “If we get out there on the front foot and do what we do, I’m confident we can get a result.”
It was Nov. 15, 2024 that the Tigers came from 2–0 down to defeat the Big Red 3–2 in overtime and advance to the Ivy League final. On Nov. 16, Cornell will look to get revenge at Old Nassau.
“It’s gonna be a real battle,” Barlow said. “It’s gonna be a fun game.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is a head News editor, senior Sports writer, and education director for the ‘Prince.’ He is from Glendale, Calif. and typically covers breaking news and profiles. He can be reached at hy5161[at]princeton.edu.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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