On a chilly Saturday night in Hanover, Princeton Men’s soccer (10–5 overall, 5–1 Ivy League) won their fifth consecutive game with a 2–1 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green (5–7–3, 2–3–1). Both goals came courtesy of senior forward Nico Nee in the first half.
“As in a lot of our games this year, a big key was getting off to a strong start and scoring the first goal,” head coach Jim Barlow ’91 wrote to The Daily Princetonian. “We knew Dartmouth was going to put a lot into getting back into it and they did.”
“They had us on our heels for a while and they scored a great goal, but the guys kept competing up to the end and secured the 3 points,” Barlow continued.
Heading into the game, Princeton needed a win to stay in contention for a share of the Ivy League regular season title and a potential No. 1 seed for the Ivy League tournament. Entering the match-up in a stronger position, a win for the Big Green would have meant clinching a spot in the Ivy League tournament.
It took just a couple of minutes for the Tigers to find the back of the net. Junior midfielder Gabe Duchovny played the ball into the box, finding Nee who chipped the ball into the goal.
GOALLLLL!!!! Nico Nee 🤝 Gabe Duchovny and the Tigers lead 1-0 just two minutes in!🤯#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/ABMMdChIbJ
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) November 2, 2024
Dartmouth’s biggest chance of the first half came in the 17th minute when a shot from forward Trenton Blake went just wide of the goal. Unfortunately for the Tigers, senior defender Issa Mudashiru was forced off with an injury suffered during the play. Mudashiru scored two goals in the midweek non-conference win against Seton Hall.
In the 21st minute, a Tiger corner played in by junior midfielder Jack Jasinski landed perfectly for sophomore midfielder Liam Beckwith. After Beckwith’s shot deflected off of a Big Green defender, it landed in front of Nee who slotted it home to double Princeton’s lead. It was Nee’s second goal of the night and third of the season.
History was not on Dartmouth’s side. The last time they had allowed two goals and still won the game was a 3–2 win over Yale in October of 2022.
Despite a couple of late chances from Big Green, the Tigers closed out the half with a 2–0 lead. It was a physical half in New Hampshire with 10 total fouls across both teams, but Princeton controlled the tempo and pace.
The Big Green started the second half with their foot on the gas. In the 47th minute, sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Samuels made his biggest save of the night off a left-footed shot from forward Vasilis Moiras.
“It’s been awesome getting a lot of quality action in some really important games,” Samuels said. “I’ve particularly noticed a big improvement in my in-game confidence and decision-making.”
In total, Darmouth registered 10 shots in the second half as they aimed to come back in the second half. The first 20 minutes of the second half were largely dominated by the Big Green, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Princeton had a few chances of their own. In the 64th minute, a shot from Beckwith hit the crossbar. Shortly after, junior forward Will Francis headed the ball just wide of the goal.
In the 72nd minute, Dartmouth midfielder Kristian Feed ripped a shot from outside the 18-yard box that beat Samuels to get the hosts within one. With the renewed momentum, the Big Green were in search of an equalizer, continuously putting shots on goal.
WHAT A GOAL!!
— Dartmouth Men’s Soccer (@DartmouthMSoc) November 3, 2024
Kristian Feed with the absolute rocket to get the Big Green within one! 🚀
🔗: https://t.co/9WKqUpQGFl#GoBigGreen | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/76wYU2rNRc
In the 85th minute, it looked like the Tigers were going to put the game away when Nee dribbled through multiple defenders and played the ball to Beckwith, who was able to get past the Big Green goalie but hit the crossbar. On the rebound, Ittycheria missed wide of the goal as the Princeton bench was in disbelief.
In the dying seconds of the game, a Dartmouth header went just wide of the goal as Princeton survived for a crucial 2–1 road win. Despite the Big Green outshooting the Tigers 14–12 with seven shots on goal to the Tigers four, Princeton was able to come away with the gritty victory.
“I credit it to leadership and experience,” Barlow noted. “By this point of the season, we have been in a lot of games like that.”
“There have been stretches where we’ve been under pressure and have to stay alert and connected, see plays before they develop, and compete like crazy for loose and second balls in the box,” Barlow continued. “It’s not just the guys in the back but the entire team being committed to defending in those moments.”
With the win, the Tigers stay in contention for a share of the Ivy League title and will host the No. 19 ranked Penn (12–2–1, 6–0) next Saturday at Roberts Stadium.
The Quakers have a perfect record in the Ivy League and have been one of the top teams in the country this season, highlighted by a win over No. 3 Pittsburgh in September.
With a win on Saturday, the Tigers will clinch a share of the league title and will reserve the right to host the Ivy League tournament due to tiebreaker rules. Penn will have less pressure, as the visitors can afford a draw and may very well choose to play a conservative match in order to secure the title.
“We will prepare like we have for every game this year,” Barlow said. “We want to have a good week of training, be healthy and fresh on Saturday, and bring our best to a title game.”
Barlow ended by saying, “We agreed at the beginning of the season that we had seven Ivy Championship games, and this is number seven. It should be a lot of fun.”
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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