Seven games. Seven wins. Zero goals conceded.
The historic season for No. 3 ranked Princeton men’s soccer (13–1–2 overall, 7–0 Ivy League) continued Saturday evening when the Tigers defeated Penn (8–4–4, 3–2–2) 1–0.
With the win, the Tigers became the first team in Ivy League history to not allow a single goal in conference play. Throughout the course of league play, the Orange and Black outscored the remainder of the Ancient Eight 12–0.
“We keep emphasizing the fact that all the headlines are just talk and we haven’t accomplished anything yet. We want to remain humble and hungry as the whole team knows we have so much more to give,” senior forward Daniel Ittycheria said in a statement.
“This group has worked super hard to get through a really difficult league without a loss and without giving up a goal,” Head Coach Jim Barlow ’91 wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “It’s been fun being around a group that hasn’t focused on records or history but has just continued to push each other to get better.”
Barlow said the real reward will be playing in the Ivy Tournament and, “hopefully,” the NCAA tournament.
The catalyst behind the Tigers’ success has been junior goalie Andrew Samuels and his backline consisting of senior Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch, sophomore Roka Tsunehara, senior Jack Jasinski, and sophomore Dash Papez.
“My preparation and mentality has been the same for every match this season,” Samuels wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “We as a team approach every opportunity to play as a championship match, and I think that has been crucial for our success and overall team defending this year.”
“I also have to give a huge shoutout to my defense. Truly the best back line in the entire country, and they make my job remarkably easy,” Samuels continued.
The defending quadrant and Samuels have started 13 games together and lead the team in minutes played, with each logging at least 1,090 minutes.
The lone goal of the game came in the seventh minute courtesy of junior midfielder/forward Bardia Hormozi off an assist from Ittycheria. The goal was Hormozi’s sixth of the 2025 campaign.
“The early goal was huge,” Barlow wrote to the ‘Prince,’ adding that it boosted confidence. “Our defenders and Andrew made some big plays to preserve the shutout.”
After Hormozi’s goal, Ittycheria nearly doubled the Tigers lead in the 17th minute, but Quaker goalkeeper Phillip Falcon III was there to make the save. Falcon tied his career high with six saves on Saturday.
20 minutes into the first half, the Quakers applied pressure on the Tiger net, forcing three crucial saves from Samuels. Samuels finished with six saves en route to his 11th shutout of the season, breaking the program record for most shutouts in the season.
“I think our focus and willingness to run somewhat slipped for those ten minutes,” Samuels wrote. “However, we have fully adopted the bend don't break mentality when things don't go our way."
In a game that saw 27 shots combined, both sides continued launching shots at the opposing goal. However, the score remained 1–0 at the halftime break.
Coming out of the locker room, the Orange and Black had a chain of opportunities, but were unable to convert. A shot from Ittycheria in the 58th minute was denied by Falcon.
Despite Falcon keeping the deficit at one for the hosts, they were unable to get anything past Samuels. Princeton held on for a 1–0 win, completing its third perfect Ivy League season in program history, and playing spoiler to the Quakers’ senior night.
The Ivy League tournament will be held at Roberts Stadium on Thursday and Sunday. The Tigers — as the No. 1 seed — will host the No. 4-seeded Harvard Crimson (6–5–5, 2–3–2).
The key to the tournament will be “playing fast, counter pressing, and moving forward quickly,” Ittycheria wrote. "The last two games we have been getting loads of chances but not being more clinical, so that is the aim for Harvard on Thursday.”
After starting the season with just three wins in their opening nine games, the Crimson have just one loss in their last seven games. During that period, they played scoreless draws against No. 2 University of Vermont (12–0–5, 6–0–1 America East) and No. 23 Cornell (12–2–2, 5–1–1).
Offensively, Harvard is led by junior forward Andreas Savva and first-year forward Adam Poliakov.
Should the Tigers beat the Crimson, they will advance to the final, where they will take on the winner of No. 2-seeded Cornell and No. 3-seeded Penn. The winner of the tournament will get an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Barlow said the team will continue to focus on their “movements, timing, passing, and finishing in the attack without compromising anything we’ve been doing defensively,” leading into the tournament.
If the Tigers are able to win the conference tournament, they make a strong case to the NCAA committee for the No. 1 overall seed for this year’s tournament.
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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