In Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, men’s soccer (12–6 overall, 7–2 Ivy League) dominated then-No. 6 Penn (14–3–1 overall, 8–1 Ivy League) in the Ivy League Tournament championship, beating the Quakers 3–1 on Sunday.
The Tigers led from start to finish in the championship game against an undefeated Quaker team that had beaten them 1–0 the previous weekend. With the win, Princeton raised their first Ivy League Tournament trophy and clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Coming off a thrilling 3–2 double overtime win over Cornell on Friday, the Tiger offense did not miss a step. Merely a minute into the match, junior midfielder Jack Jasinski lobbed a free kick into the Quaker 18-yard box, testing the Penn keeper, Phillip Falcon III.
“I think in the Cornell game — when we put so much pressure on them in the second half, we wanted to build on that momentum,” junior forward Danny Ittycheria told The Daily Princetonian. “Our coach is always telling us to be the best in the Ivy League and how we do that is putting pressure on teams.”
A few minutes into the match, senior forward Nico Nee sent a dangerous cross in front of goal but failed to connect with Ittycheria for the first score. Princeton pressure continued for the first ten minutes, a clear focus of the game plan for a stubborn Quaker defense.
Pressure bursts pipes, and soon the Quaker defense was flooded. In the ninth minute, first-year Dash Papez launched a long shot at goal, which Falcon bobbled. Nee jumped on the loose ball and dispatched it to the back of the net for an early Tiger lead.
NICO. NEE. 🤯🔥
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) November 17, 2024
Nee’s fourth goal in four games and the Tigers lead 1-0!!!!#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/JH2WzWSbzb
Nee played a critical role in the Tigers’ tournament success, also scoring a brilliant equalizing goal on a volley last game against Cornell. He is a large part of a Tiger offense that values having one of their senior leaders back after he missed a total of five games this season.
“It’s great to have him healthy now. He is always going to score us goals and create chances for us playing aggressively,” Jasinski told the ‘Prince.’
The Quakers' had a chance to even the score about ten minutes later when forward Stas Korzeniowski found a shot from the top of the box. It sailed wide and Korzeniowski was ruled offside, soothing Tiger fans’ nerves.
Tempers flared halfway through the first half when junior midfielder Sam Vigilante collided with a Quaker defender in the Penn box and was pushed to the ground. A small shoving match ensued.
“There’s always been bad blood since I’ve been here,” says Ittycheria to the ‘Prince.’ “We don’t like them, they don’t like us. They just got pissed they weren’t playing well and took it out on Vig.”
The Tiger defense maintained a clean sheet for the rest of the half, fending off a few Quaker corners and close opportunities. Sophomore keeper Andrew Samuels made a smooth play on a cross to prevent a Penn shot and first-year midfielder Kristian Kelly held his own on a play as the last defender, clearing the ball out of bounds.
The Tigers took the air out of the Penn offense with pressure, holding the home team to two shots — none on goal — in the first half while taking 11 themselves.
“The biggest thing was just pressing, attacking is the best defense,” Jasinski noted. “When we’re all over them, the defense doesn’t have to do as much.”
Despite dominating the first half, Princeton entered the locker room at half with a slim 1–0 lead.
The Quakers focused on playing more aggressively in their halftime adjustments, forcing an opportunity in the Princeton half early on. Solid defense from First-Team All-Ivy junior defender Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch forced an awkward shot from Penn forward Jack Wagoner wide.
The Tiger offense refused to rest in the second half, sending balls into the box and probing the Quaker backline. Ittycheria, sophomore forward Kevin Kelly, and sophomore forward Ian Nunez each delivered strong passes in front of the Penn goal.
Princeton’s dedication to attacking proved to be the perfect kryptonite for the Quakers, previously untouchable in the Ivy League.
With half an hour left, Jasinski blitzed past a Penn defender carrying the ball, forcing it loose for Nunez to swoop in and gain control at the top of the box. Nunez then sidestepped Falcon before chipping a sliding defender for a 2–0 lead.
WHAT A PLAY 🤯🤯
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) November 17, 2024
IAN NUNEZ DOUBLES IT WITH JASINSKI’S THIRD ASSIST OF THE TOURNAMENT#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/ebMPvr1WFx
Penn pressed on, hoping to grab a goal back, but Samuels and the Tiger defense proved too steady. Samuels showed his own aggressive nature, confidently leaving his goal line multiple times to snatch the ball from intruding Penn players.
With slightly under 15 minutes left, Ittycheria made known exactly why he led the Tigers in goals and earned Second-Team All-Ivy honors. After first-year defender Roka Tsunehara intercepted a Penn pass and knocked the ball ahead, Ittycheria one-timed a bouncing ball from roughly twenty yards out, finding the lower left corner of the net.
DANIEL ITTYCHERIA MAKES IT 3-0 TIGERS!!! 🫨💥#PrincetonSoccer #WhosNext pic.twitter.com/a2HA7MyEtF
— Princeton Men’s Soccer (@PrincetonMSoc) November 17, 2024
Ittycheria went on to earn Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for his three total goals, including a stunning game-winning header on Friday in double overtime against Cornell.
With a 3–0 lead and mere minutes remaining on the clock, the Tigers had all but secured the chance to raise the trophy. The Quakers managed to pull a goal back with six minutes left when defender Leo Burney netted a loose ball in front of the net.
Princeton held on to take the final 3–1, and the Tigers rushed the field as the final whistle blew, as the elated applause of the Princeton faithful who made the short trip over to Philadelphia filled the background.
The Tigers have now won seven of their last eight games after starting the season 5–5.
“I feel like I have always been confident in the team, there was never a time when I doubted our quality,” Jasinski told the ‘Prince.’ “I think it’s just clicked for us — especially attacking-wise — getting a lot of goals the last three or four games.”
In the first round of the College Cup, the Tigers will head to Akron, Ohio, to take on the Akron Zips (11–4–4, 7–0–1 Big East) at 6 p.m. on Thursday. This will be the Tigers first College Cup appearance since 2021 when they fell to St. John’s 1–0 in the opening round
“The confidence in the group has never been higher, I mean we’re stoked,” Jasinski said. “We want to go down in Princeton soccer history, and we think we can beat anyone.”
“I think the momentum that we’ve had the past two games is going to help us a lot,” added Ittycheria. “It’s not the fact that we won, but it’s how we’ve won in dominating fashion, especially in the later stages of games. We’re super excited.”
Harrison Blank is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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