It took just two Ivy League contests for men’s soccer (5–3–0 overall, 2–0 Ivy League) to double their win total from last year after going on the road and defeating the Brown Bears (3–5–1, 0–2) 2–1. The Tiger’s goals came courtesy of junior forwards Daniel Ittycheria and Will Francis. The duo have scored six of the 11 goals for Princeton this season.
“It’s always a challenge playing at Brown,” head coach Jim Barlow ’91 wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “They have a very good team and, like in the game against Harvard, we were able to score an early goal and that helped a lot.”
“Our guys were excited for this challenge and came into the game with a strong mentality and a lot of energy,” Barlow continued.
Princeton has now won three consecutive matches, winning five out of their last six games. The Tigers are coming off a 2023 season where they struggled and came away with four wins total, with just one in the Ivy League. However, it seems like they have found their stride and identity and will look to replicate the success of the 2021 team that went seven-for-seven in conference play.
“When we lost against New Hampshire, we knew that this was going to be a good team regardless,” Ittycheria told the ‘Prince.’ “Our first win against St. John’s was huge, and we knew to use that momentum and just to keep confidence and stay in control and believe in ourselves.”
For Brown, it marked their third straight defeat and the first defeat suffered at home. The Bears went undefeated in conference play last year and made it to the final of the Ivy League tournament, but they have not been able to replicate that success in 2024.
It took less than three minutes for the Tigers to attack the Brown defense. Ittycheria played a ball into sophomore midfielder Liam Beckwith who was taken down in the penalty box by the Brown goalkeeper. Ittycheria stepped up and converted the penalty for his fifth goal of the season.
Danny from the spot gets the Tigers on the board early! 🤩 Princeton leads 1-0!! #PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/ExIE9lqewe
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) October 5, 2024
The next 15 minutes saw the Bears with multiple opportunities in the 18-yard box. However, the Tiger defense stood strong and kept the hosts at bay.
With just over 25 minutes remaining in the first half, the Tigers had numbers in transition following a bad touch by a Brown defender. Ittycheria played an over-the-top ball into sophomore forward Ian Nunez who nearly scored, forcing a big save from the Brown goalie.
Nunez scored the lone goal in Princeton’s midweek win against Monmouth. Yesterday’s contest against Brown marked the Tiger’s third game in the span of a week.
“I think our guys’ ability to focus on getting better every day has helped create a stronger identity,” Barlow added. “We’ve tried to focus on several areas of improvement both with and without the ball and over the past few weeks we can all see the progress.”
“Fortunately that has also led to some good wins against strong teams, he continued. “We know these games come down to the smallest of margins and we still have a long way to go.”
Shortly after, Brown head coach Chase Wileman made a trio of substitutions, hoping to change the tempo of the game for the hosts who had yet to threaten senior goalkeeper Khamari Hadaway.
The substitutions provided some energy for Brown, who nearly scored with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half. A Bears throw-in landed right in front of forward Diego Elizalde who hit the crossbar, keeping the clean sheet alive for the Princeton defense.
The shot from Elizalde proved to be the biggest chance of the first half for the Bears. While Brown had more possession, it was the Tigers who capitalized on their chance and took a 1–0 lead into the halftime break. Fatigue was not a problem for the Tigers backline, who stood tall and defended their goal.
“I think being super clinical is huge,” Ittycheria told the ‘Prince.’ “Once I got into space, I just trusted in myself and believed in making the right pass or shooting.”
The Tigers continued to threaten the Brown goal early in the second half. After junior midfielder Jack Jasinski took a Tiger corner, Brown goalkeeper Henrik Weiper was unable to control the ball, which landed right in front of Francis who scored to give Princeton a 2–0 lead. It did not seem to be Weiper’s night, as the German international student had directly contributed to both Tiger goals.
Service from Jack Jasinski and Will Francis converts!!! 👏🔥
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) October 5, 2024
Tigers lead 2-0!!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/glN0JtlkVm
“I think it’s something that we’ve tried to improve on this year,” Jasinski responded when asked about the Tigers’ success from set pieces. “[We’ve] really focused on set pieces, offensively and defensively.”
Determined to get back into the game and keep their unbeaten record at home alive, the Bears pushed forward. Just a few minutes later, the Bears forced a big save from Hadaway who came off his line to deny Brown midfielder Kyle Gee.
The Bears got one back after a shot from the outside of the box by forward Jamin Gogo Peters found the back of the net. It was the second goal of the season from Peters, who struggled last season after a second-team All-Ivy selection in 2022.
With just over 20 minutes remaining in the match, Jasinski played another Tiger corner into fellow junior midfielder Jack Hunt who found the back of the net. Unfortunately for the visitors, a foul in the box wiped the goal away and kept Brown in the game.
Princeton continued to defend, hoping to pick up their second Ivy win of the season. As Brown sent more players forward, space continued to open up in the Brown half. With just over four minutes remaining, Ittycheria nearly put the game to bed but was unable to convert inside the penalty box.
“When Brown threw a lot at us in the second half, we held on with some solid defending and goalkeeping,” Barlow added. “Winning an Ivy League game on the road is very difficult, and our guys competed well and found a way to get the result.”
In the dying seconds of the game, junior midfielder Sam Vigilante was shown his second yellow of the match after holding back a Brown transition. The Bears had one final chance in the penalty box but failed to convert as the Tigers held on for a narrow 2–1 win. The win gave the Tigers their third straight win of the season and handed the Bears their first loss at home.
“It’s always kind of a slow start for us,” Jasinski noted. “We start later than all the other leagues. It always takes us a couple of games to get going. I think from the beginning, we could be a good team this year, but [it] just took a bit of time.”
The next stop for the Tigers will be back in the orange bubble, where they will take on the Cornell Big Red (7–1–2, 1–1). Cornell was picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League preseason poll conducted by the media, receiving just one first-place vote.
“We’re super excited,” Ittycheria added. “These past two wins have been huge for us and believing in ourselves and sticking in our game plan will allow us to be really successful with the momentum we have.”
Last season, the Tigers traveled to Ithaca, where they lost 5–1 to the Big Red. Similarly in 2022, the Orange and Black fell at home to Cornell 3–1. For most of the players on the team, they will be looking to get their first win against Cornell.
“Cornell has a very good team and we want to play our best against them,” Barlow noted. “We will use the next few days to learn more about them and continue to improve. It’s a big game.”
“We definitely have something to prove against them,” Jasinski concluded.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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