On Tuesday evening, Princeton men’s soccer (9–5 overall, 4–1 Ivy League) took on a fellow Garden State squad when they hosted the Seton Hall Pirates (10–5–1, 3–3–1 Big East). The Tigers put on their best offensive performance of the season en route to a 5–2 win at Roberts Stadium.
After rallying past Yale 1–0 last Saturday to clinch an Ivy League Championship berth, the Tigers extended their winning streak to four following their offensive triumph over the Pirates. Coming into the match, the Pirates were a formidable opponent, allowing an average of only 0.73 goals per game, tied for ninth lowest in the NCAA. Their seven shutouts were also tied for 11th nationally.
Senior defender and captain Issa Mudashiru scored the first two goals of his career. Alongside Mudashiru, first-year midfielder Garry Zhang, junior forward Daniel Ittycheria, and senior defender/forward Harry Roberts all found the back of the net.
“The focus all year has been on getting better every day, both with and without the ball,” head coach Jim Barlow wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “During training we just spend a lot of time trying to improve our passing and creating chances, and also trying to be alert and organized and connected defensively.”
The first chance for the Tigers came minutes into the match as senior forward Nico Nee was unmarked in the box and put the ball in front of the goal, but nobody was there to put it in the back of the net.
In the 14th minute, a corner from Roberts found the head of junior midfielder/defender Jack Jasinski, placing the ball perfectly for Mudashiru to slot it into the back of the net to give the hosts a 1–0 lead and his first career goal for the Orange and Black.
FIRST GOAL FOR THE CAP 😤👏 Issa Mudashiru puts the Tigers up 1-0!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/KVyAyOePYz
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) October 29, 2024
Less than five minutes later, Pirates goalkeeper Soren Jensen came off his line to clear a threatening ball. However, his clearance was intercepted by sophomore midfielder Liam Beckwith, who played a beautiful ball into Roberts who raised his defender to head the ball into the empty net to double the lead.
The next 10 minutes saw both sides threaten the opposing goal, but both were unable to convert. A header from Ittycheria missed just wide of the goal while a shot from Roberts forced a big save from Jensen.
Despite a 2–0 lead, the Tigers refused to sit back. Ittycheria notched his sixth goal of the season after he connected with junior midfielder Sam Vigilante in the penalty box to make it 3–0 Tigers.
Seton Hall had its biggest chance of the game in the 38th minute when forward Agustin Resch forced a point-blank save from senior goalkeeper William Watson. Watson had his second start of the season after shutting out the Fordham Rams last week in a 1–0 win.
Will Watson DENIES the Pirates with this big stop! 🧤❌#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/RYaxAZAMDg
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) October 29, 2024
In the dying minutes of the half, junior midfielder Gabriel Duchovny played a ball into the box that then found the foot of Mudashiru to give the Tigers their fourth goal of the contest. After 43 games without a goal and two injury-filled seasons, Mudashiru found the back of the net twice in the first half.
“He’s gone through a lot with a tremendous attitude and mature leadership, so it was really nice to see him reward himself and the team with those two goals,” Barlow said. “He deserved it.”
The Tigers dominated the first half with seven shots on goal compared to just one from the visitors. For the Pirates, the last time they allowed four goals or more came on October 6, 2021 in a 4–2 loss against then-No. 1 ranked Georgetown.
“It was nice to see our attacking guys create and finish off some good goals last night,” Barlow said. “The guys have put in a great effort all season trying to push themselves to be better in every area.”
“They understand how close all of these games are and how important it is to be present and aware of what is going on in every situation,” he continued.
Coming out of the locker room, Princeton kept its foot on the gas. The Tigers were regularly in the offensive third, earning four corner kicks in the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Tigers’ fifth goal came in the 64th minute when Zhang played a through ball to Roberts, who carried it into the box and passed it back to Zhang, resulting in his first career goal.
GARRY ZHANG OPENS HIS NCAA ACCOUNT 😱👏🤩
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) October 30, 2024
It's 🖐️-0 Tigers!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/dyLiPdWT9D
Despite two consolation goals from Seton Hall, the Tigers came away with a comfortable 5–2 win. In the final six minutes of the game, junior walk-on goalkeeper Sully Atkin checked into the game for his first minutes on the pitch as a Tiger. Despite giving up a goal in the 85th minute, he recorded his first career save in the final seconds of the game to keep the Pirates at bay.
Atkin, a walk-on to the men’s soccer team, has been a part of the Tiger squad since the beginning of his freshman year.
The Tigers dominated from start to finish as Barlow was able to give a majority of his squad an opportunity to see the pitch. The Tigers had 10 shots on goal to the Pirates five.
After consecutive losses to then-No. 20 ranked Cornell and unranked Army, the Tigers have overcome their slow start, building momentum as they get closer to the end of their regular season.
“Every win helps, both with confidence and with the RPI,” Barlow said. “I also feel that this group has learned and perhaps improved as a result of the losses too … They haven’t moped or felt sorry for themselves, they just got back to work to figure out how to improve,” Barlow added.
Despite the big win, the Tigers quickly must turn their attention to this weekend’s contest against the Dartmouth Big Green (5–6–3, 2–2–1). The Tigers have already clinched a spot in the Ivy League tournament, but a win Saturday will keep the Tigers alive for a potential Ivy League regular season title and the rights to host the tournament.
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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