On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Roberts Stadium, men’s soccer (3–3 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) started conference play with an impressive 2–0 win over the Harvard Crimson (0–3–3, 0–1). In the process, the Tigers claimed their first shutout of the 2024 season.
Coming into the season, the Crimson were ranked third in the Ivy League preseason poll conducted by the media. Meanwhile, the Tigers were ranked at sixth.
“A big part of this team and the mentality that we’ve brought into this year is not paying attention to preseason polls, not paying attention to rankings,” senior goalkeeper Khamari Hadaway told The Daily Princetonian in an interview.
“The only thing that we can do and we will do every game is to show up in that moment and put our best out there. Whatever team is in front of us will have to deal with that. Our mentality is to go at every team we play.”
The Tigers dominated the game from start to finish, finishing the game with a staggering 11 shots on goal in comparison to the two for the visitors. While Crimson goalie Lucian Wood made a career high nine saves, it was not enough as junior forwards Daniel Ittycheria and Will Francis both found the back of the net in front of the 646 fans in attendance.
The Tigers started off the game emphatically with a composed strike after a mistake by a Harvard center back led to Ittycheria opening the scoring for Princeton.
“The team had a great mentality to start the game, came out with a lot of energy, and scoring the first goal so quickly certainly helped,” head coach Jim Barlow wrote to the ‘Prince.’
“We’ve been trying to emphasize defending well individually and collectively for 90 minutes and this was our most complete team performance,” Barlow continued.
It took just 90 seconds for Princeton to open the scoring as Harvard’s goalkeeper stood powerless watching the ball sail past him. This goal took Ittycheria’s tally up to four for the season and he leads the Tigers in goals and points scored.
DANNY STRIKES JUST 90 SECS IN! 💥 Tigers lead 1-0!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/YOrYwKnu2R
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) September 28, 2024
Off to a flying start, the Orange and Black kept dominating the ball and taking shots against the Crimson defense including two shots that hit the post from junior midfielder Jack Jasinski and Francis.
Chances soon started to pile up for the Tigers as the 21st minute of the game saw a shot from sophomore forward Kevin Kelley get blocked before a rebound came back to junior midfielder Gabriel Duchovny who forced a save off the Harvard keeper.
The weather in the first half was an interesting factor, with heavy rains affecting the quality of both teams on the pitch, leading to rough fouls committed by the Crimson. The visitors got two yellow cards in an 11 minute span displaying their frustration with the multiple Tiger opportunities on their goal.
“Last year, we got hit pretty hard first game of the season against Dartmouth in similar conditions,” Hadaway added. “This year, especially in the offseason and before coming to school, we’ve trained in worse conditions to prepare for another game like that. We were much more prepared this time. Rain or shine, we know we were gonna get the job done.”
In the next five minutes, attempts came from Francis and sophomore midfielder Liam Beckwith, forcing more saves from Wood. Despite plenty of attempts and five shots on target as the half ended, the Tigers couldn’t find another goal.
The Crimson came to play in the second half, however, as they forced an acrobatic jumping save from senior goalkeeper Khamari Hadaway just two minutes in.
“When it happened, I trusted my years of training and what I’ve been taught,” Hadaway told the ‘Prince.’ “I have a lot of trust in myself and in the training I’ve had over the years.”
As the game progressed, it became more scrappy with tensions rising. After the teams traded shots, in the 73rd minute Francis got the ball and surged forward. He ran through four players weaving into the box before he slotted the ball home in the bottom right corner doubling the Tigers’ lead.
Will Francis with the run to double the Tiger lead!! 🤯
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) September 28, 2024
2-0 Princeton!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/vS7Yf2SZuM
The Tigers saw out the rest of the game in relatively comfortable fashion despite its physical nature. There were plenty of opportunities for a third goal with attempts from Ittycheria, Kelley, and first-year midfielder Kristian Kelley, but ultimately the game ended 2–0.
“It was an effort from the entire group to get the first clean sheet for the year,” senior defender Issa Mudashiru told the ‘Prince.’ “The way our midfielders covered ground and broke up plays in the middle of the park all game long won us the clean sheet.”
“It would take a full 90 minutes sustained effort to come out of the game with a result. Every moment matters in Ivy League games. These games are gritty, emotional, and pandemonium, but the team that fights to stay locked in for the entire match is the team that wants it more and the team that often wins,” he continued.
One of the bright sides for the Tigers has been the play of Issa Mudashiru. The Maryland native was a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2021 before two injury riddled years. Mudashiru is one of the captains for the team this year and has been an integral part of the Tiger’s back line.
“We’ve had a number of very talented players go through injuries in the past couple of seasons and at the start of this season, and Issa is someone who has been through a lot,” Barlow noted. “Hopefully [Mudashiru] can stay healthy this fall as he is not only a very talented player but also an important leader. Issa and all of the defenders did a great job on Saturday keeping some talented Harvard forwards from scoring.”
For Mudashiru, being able to step on the pitch and play the sport he loves is not something he takes for granted.
“’We get to play soccer today’ is a phrase that I picked up from one of our coaches, Sam Maira, and I often repeat it during warmups in practice,” Mudashiru noted. “It's a constant reminder to me and the rest of the guys how lucky we are to have the opportunity to kick a ball around.”
“The tax that an injury can have on a player’s wellbeing and mental health can be extreme, and I know for me personally after a dream start to my Princeton career in 2021, not being able to play soccer at the level that I knew I could play in my sophomore and junior years was frustrating and frankly exhausting emotionally,” Mudashiru continued.
Next up for the Tigers will be two games this coming week. On Tuesday, the Orange and Black will host the Monmouth Hawks (4–0–5, 1–0–3 Coastal Athletic Association) in another league contest. Following the contest, the Tigers will travel north to Providence, Rhode Island where they will take on the Brown Bears (3–4–1, 0–1–0).
“I think it’s gonna be crucial that we rely on our depth and we rotate throughout our squad especially considering that we have so much quality in all our positions,” Hadaway responded when asked about the challenge of a midweek game and having three games in a span of a week.
The game against the Hawks will be a great test for the Tigers as they recently beat then No. 12 ranked Hofstra. Looking to build on the momentum against the Crimson, the Tigers will look to win back to back games for the second time this season.
The storyline against the Bruno will likely be interesting as well, as the Tigers will look to start conference play with two wins for the first time since their undefeated league season in 2021.
Barlow ended by noting, “We know we are a much better team now than we were a month ago when the season started, but we realize we need to keep improving and bringing the kind of effort we displayed Saturday every day.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Alex Beverton-Smith is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Editor's Note: This piece has been updated with additional quotes from Issa Mudashiru.
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