In a season already defined by firsts, No. 3 men’s soccer (15–1–2 overall, 9–0 Ivy League) added another historic chapter on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers defeated the No. 20 overall Cornell Big Red (13–3–2, 5–1–1) 2–0, clinching the Ivy League tournament title and coming even closer to an unprecedented No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
“It’s kind of unbelievable,” junior midfielder Liam Beckwith told The Daily Princetonian. “This past summer, when I was talking with teammates, we had high hopes for the team. We knew we were gonna be good, but we didn’t know we were gonna be this good.”
With the win, the Tigers became the first team to win both the Ivy League regular season championship and the conference tournament, which was introduced in 2023. In its nine total conference games, Princeton has outscored the rest of the Ancient Eight 17–1.
“Cornell’s a really good team and they move the ball well, they’re tenacious and have so many ways of getting dangerous,” said Head Coach Jim Barlow ’91. “They were a little unlucky with their finishing today. I expect them to go far in the [NCAA] tournament.”
The Tigers got on the board early as senior midfielder Sam Vigilante scored off a pass from Beckwith. The defining moment in the game came late in the first half when junior goalkeeper Andrew Samuels blocked a penalty kick from Cornell forward Kasper Wollstein.
“If they score that goal, that’s a very different second half,” Samuels said of his mindset in the moment. “We know our biggest strength is our defending, so I’ve got to do everything I can to stop that.”
As the visitors kept pushing for the equalizer, Beckwith sealed the title for the Tigers in the 88th minute.
Cornell Head Coach John Smith told the ‘Prince’ that, ahead of the game, he didn’t see “any real glaring weaknesses” in Princeton. He added that the Tigers “are physically mature and emotionally mature … they’re experienced and they’ve got good balance all over the field.”
Next up for the Orange and Black will be the NCAA tournament. Upsets elsewhere — No. 1 Maryland (12–1–3, 8–0–2 Big Ten) falling to unranked UCLA (7–6–4, 5–3–2) in the Big Ten semifinals and No. 4 Virginia (12–2–4, 5–0–3 Atlantic Coast Conference) losing 1–0 to No. 25 SMU (11–4–4, 3–2–3) in the ACC title game — have opened the door for Princeton to contend for the top overall seed.
“It just means one game,” Barlow said. “We just gotta win the next game, that’s been the guys mentality all year.”
The committee will likely decide between the Tigers and the defending champion Vermont Catamounts (14–0–5, 6–0–1 America East) for the No. 1 overall seed. Regardless, the Tigers will host at Roberts Stadium through the NCAA quarterfinal game, should they make it to that stage of the tournament.
Weather dictated much of the first half. Wind gusts nearing 40 miles per hour made the pitch unpredictable and forced both sides to adjust on the fly.
“It was a bit of a cagey start,” Smith said. “Princeton deservedly scored within that period of time. Beyond that, we started to work our way into the game.”
Vigilante’s goal came in the sixth minute after a free kick from senior defender Jack Jasinski was parried away by Cornell goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg. Beckwith collected the rebound, beat his defender, and cut the ball back to Vigilante, who placed his shot perfectly past Friedberg.
“[Vigilante] has got such a big heart and such a big engine,” Barlow said. “He’s kind of the heart and soul of the group in terms of how much ground he covers and how many balls he wins and now he’s getting his goals too.”
For the Tigers, it was the sixth time this season where they’ve scored within the first 16 minutes of the first half.
“With a group that defends so well, it’s awesome to get an early goal because it gives us confidence that now the other team is really gonna have to push to get a goal, and that might open things up for us,” Barlow said.
But the best chance of the half came in the 43rd minute when first-year midfielder Tyler Vilet fouled Cornell midfielder Westin Carnevale in the 18-yard box. After a video review, the visitors were awarded a penalty.
The one man standing between Cornell and the equalizer was Samuels. The Ivy League defensive player of the year guessed correctly and made the stop, his third penalty save of the season.
Samuels said “it’s a little bit of both” when asked if where he’s guessing is predetermined or based on the kicker’s runup. “I tell one of my teammates before the game where I’m going, but then if I see how his run-up changes, I’ll change it up a bit, but I’d like to go in with a set idea of what I want to do.”
Heading into the locker room, the possession battle was dead even, and although the Big Red outshot Princeton nine to four, their only effort on target came from the penalty spot.
The second half opened up quickly. In the 59th minute, Cornell defender Aidan Martin’s shot was just inches away from finding the back of the net.
As Cornell continued to try to find the equalizer, so did the counterattack opportunities for Princeton. In the 71st minute, it was senior forward Daniel Ittycheria weaving through the defense just for his shot to hit the crossbar.
“By the end of it, we were just pushing everybody forward and left ourselves exposed,” Smith said.
The final look for the visitors came in the 86th minute when midfielder Campbell Reece’s shot went just over the goal. Desperate for the equalizer, Cornell was left scrambling in the back in the 88th minute. Vigilante played the through ball into Beckwith, who chipped the goalie to double the Tiger lead and seal the title for Barlow’s squad.
The NCAA selection show will be live at 1 p.m. EST tomorrow on NCAA.com. Last year, the Tigers fell to Akron 1–0 in the opening round of the tournament. This year, they will be looking to do something they haven’t done in 32 years: win an NCAA tournament game.
With an all but confirmed bye to the second round, the Tigers will face the winner of an opening round game scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 20.
“We’re really hungry, we really want it,” Beckwith said. “We’ve been here before now with this group. Hopefully, this is the one we can keep going and progress with this group.”
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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