Men's Soccer: Porter gives Tigers a creative touch

Last season, the men’s soccer team relied on a steady, consistent attack to score the goals it needed to secure the Ivy League championship. The Tigers created many opportunities off the run of play, but one of their core strengths was their ability to score off of restarts, corner kicks and junior defender Mark Linnville’s long throw-ins. It was a dependable and strategic — if not always pretty — way to win games.

Enter freshman forward Cameron Porter. He thrives off of the freedom the attacker position affords him. In his words, he likes the “stylish things.” That “crazy move.” The dynamism. To Porter, the potential for creativity is one of the most alluring aspects of the game. A Manchester United fan, Porter has found an idol in Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov, known for his elegant and laid-back style of play, which is interpreted by some as laziness.

“I love the way he blows by people; it almost looks effortless when he does it,” Porter said. “Even though people critique him for lacking effort, I think that’s okay. He looks cool.”

Princeton has had no trouble creating the same opportunities as it did last season. The team continues to outshoot its opponents, winning corner kick battles and, for the most part, dominating possession of the ball. Until Tuesday’s 7-3 rout of Seton Hall, however, all these chances were not translating into goals. With this traditional formula not working, the creative spark that Porter brings — a complement to the principal dynamic force up top, senior forward and reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Antoine Hoppenot — may just be the solution to the Tigers’ scoring woes.

Porter was born in North Carolina, but he spent most of his life in Centerville, Ohio. He began his soccer career at five or six years old, with a team called the Purple People Eaters, coached by his dad. He continued playing soccer growing up, but also picked up gymnastics — which he said helps his balance on the field — and swimming, which he said aids his endurance. He was a nationally ranked swimmer, but when the time came for him to choose which sport to pursue at the collegiate level, he chose the one that gave him more freedom.

“Swimming’s a lot of training. You stay in shape, but it lacks that creativity that soccer has,” Porter said. “There are more decisions, and it’s more dynamic on the soccer field than swimming, which is more about consistency of performance than what you can do.”

Porter decided that Princeton was his first choice after attending a soccer recruitment camp on campus the summer after his junior year. While he considered the University his top choice for its athletic and academic reputation, neither was the deciding factor.

“I came here, I saw the campus and I loved the fact that Mathey was serving Reuben sandwiches,” Porter said. “I love those things.”

When Porter began the year, his main goal was to make the travel squad. He had watched the team play Georgetown to a 1-1 tie in September 2010 and did not think he’d be ready to contribute in his freshman year. But after proving himself in the preseason, Porter is now a regular starter for the Tigers, which he said has given him a lot of confidence and has made him feel more a part of the team.

But even after he earned a starting spot, Porter said he still felt a lot of pressure at first, largely because of the position he plays.

“As a forward you just have that pressure to get that first goal, and it seems like the longer it takes for you to get it, the harder it gets,” Porter said.

Porter, along with the rest of the Tigers, said he felt the pressure mounting after opening the season with two scoreless games. Then, in the third game, Porter scored the team’s first goal of the season in a 2-1 home loss against Fairleigh Dickinson, after which he said he felt relieved. He scored his second and third goals at home last week, evening a 2-0 halftime deficit against No. 12 St. John’s. Though the Tigers ultimately lost 3-2, Porter’s performance was enough to earn him Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors.

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“I know he would have traded the award in a second for a win,” head coach Jim Barlow ’91 said in an email. “It’s nice that he was recognized for his two goals, but he and the rest of the team are more focused on trying to turn the season around and continue to improve.”

Indeed, while Porter has had a successful start to his Princeton career, he said he recognizes that there is a lot he still needs to do to improve his game. In particular, he is looking to improve his ability to cross the ball.

“I love to get to the corner, but I need to work on finding that final touch through,” Porter said.

According to Barlow and junior defender David Dubow, Porter’s speed, ability to go one-on-one and aggressiveness around the goal are the main attributes he brings to the team. However, this skill set coincides largely with Hoppenot’s, and at first the two had some trouble adjusting to playing up top together. Barlow attempted to remedy the situation by moving Porter to more of a wide midfield role, allowing the two more opportunities to work in tandem.

“At first, they didn’t have the best chemistry because they both are so similar,” Dubow said. “Cam’s been playing more out wide recently. They’re on the same page, it seems, and they’re able to connect more passes and combine better. It’s been working.”

But Porter made sure that the position shift has not stifled his creativity or impeded his favorite aspect of the game: “Going at people.”

“That’s the fun part,” Porter said. “And I mean, who doesn’t love celebrating when you score? Who doesn’t love that? Defenders can get the big stop, and that’s a hoorah to the team, but you don’t hear the stands going crazy, you don’t get to run up the field and throw your arms in the air and shit like that.”

But does he have a signature celebratory move?

“I think I need to work on that,” Porter admitted.