On a windy Saturday afternoon at Roberts Stadium, Princeton men’s soccer (8–5 overall, 4–1 Ivy League) rallied past the Yale Bulldogs (4–9–1, 1–4 Ivy League) with a 1–0 win. After a midweek win over the Fordham Rams (7–4–4, 4–1–2 Atlantic 10), the Tigers looked to continue their winning streak. With the win, the Tigers have punched their ticket to the Ivy League men’s soccer tournament in November.
Having not beaten the Bulldogs in regulation time since 2015, the Tigers were hungry for an elusive victory over Yale.
The Tigers started off slow as Yale looked to set the tone early. In the eighth minute, sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Samuels made two crucial saves to keep Yale’s offense at bay. Samuels, who has stepped up for the Tigers since the injury of starting senior goalkeeper Khamari Hadaway, was crucial in today’s clean sheet against the Bulldogs.
“We knew it would be a very gritty game. They’re a good team, and we knew it was going to be a scrappy defensive game, and I was ready for the battles,” Samuels told The Daily Princetonian.
The Tigers continued to show their defensive prowess as senior defender and captain Issa Mudashiru and junior midfielder Jack Hunt made timely tackles throughout the first 20 minutes. The Tigers further proved why they boast the Ivy League’s second-best defense, despite a rotating backline featuring five different center back combinations and three goalkeepers.
“As the season [has] progressed, we have shown a greater togetherness on the defensive end, and when we switched a formation to a three back, we played such excellent defense,” Samuels said.
Looking for some offensive action in the first half, the Tigers moved to a 3–5–2 formation in hopes of giving creative players like junior forward Daniel Ittycheria, who sits third in the Ivy League for shots and shots on goal, more freedom. This transition in formation quickly reaped rewards — the Tigers’ game-making moment came in the 23rd minute on a set piece after an outside-the-box foul. Junior midfielder Jack Jasinski stepped up and delivered a stunner into the top-right corner, netting his first career goal as a Tiger.
“It feels good to score your first career goal in a game we had to win. In that moment, looking at the ball, I knew I was gonna hit, and I’m just happy it went in,” Jasinski told the ‘Prince.’
Coincidentally, earlier in the afternoon at Roberts Field, the women’s team, who beat the Dartmouth Big Green 4–0, scored their first goal at the same spot on a free kick to the top right corner.
Following the goal, the Tigers gained momentum and kept the pressure high. After several dangerous corners and forcing a fingertip save from Yale’s goalkeeper in the 32nd minute, the Tigers continued to keep the Bulldogs defense on high alert. The Tigers ended the half with three more shots than the Bulldogs.
In the second half, the Tigers played a much heavier defensive game, weathering Yale’s offensive prowess. Princeton’s resilient defense and strategic substitutions maintained their narrow lead, and the Bulldogs struggled to break through the backline.
A potential game-sealing moment came in the 81st minute when the Kelley brothers connected. First-year midfielder Kristian Kelley found his brother, sophomore forward Kevin Kelley, who slotted a shot in the back of the net. However, Kristian Kelley was just offside, which caused the goal to be overturned and the lead to remain at one. The Kelley brothers’ synergy continues to be a bright spot for the Tigers, having connected for the first time on a goal last week against Fordham.
The Tigers held possession for the last 10 minutes and went on to earn a 1–0 victory over the Bulldogs.
With this win, the Orange and Black holds firm in their second-place position in the Ivy League and appear to have overcome their shaky start. Having entered Fall Break with a .500 win percentage, the Tigers are up to .615 and are at .800 within the Ivy. With three more games remaining on their schedule, including two conference games against the Dartmouth Big Green (5–6–3, 2–2–1) and Penn Quakers (11–2–1, 5–0), the Tigers have a chance to sit atop the conference standings and host the Ivy League tournament.
With three consecutive wins, the Tigers will look to continue their winning form when they face the Seton Hall Pirates (10–4–1, 3–3–1 Big East) at home this Tuesday.
“We got two games to win the league, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Samuels told the ‘Prince.’ “We’re going to go in and kill it.”
Matthew Yi is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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