HEAD FIRST: Princeton University men’s soccer player Thomas Sanner, left, goes up high to head a ball in action last fall. Senior star Sanner should be a go-to finisher for the Tigers this fall. Princeton kicks off its 2015 campaign by playing at St. John’s on September 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Riding a late surge last fall, the Princeton University men’s soccer team went 8-0-1 in its final nine games and tied Dartmouth for the Ivy League title.

Despite that stirring finish, the squad was left with an empty feeling as Dartmouth earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by virtue of its 2-1 overtime win at Princeton and the Tigers didn’t receive an at-large invitation to the tourney.

As Princeton heads into the 2015 campaign, which starts with a game at St. John’s on September 4, the bitter taste left from last year is fueling the returning players.

“I think a lot of guys carried that disappointment around with them for a while, the frustration of having such a great year and not being able to get in the field for the tournament,” said longtime Princeton head coach Jim Barlow, whose team ended up 11-3-3 overall and 5-1-1 Ivy in 2014.

“It was just such a disappointing ending after such a good stretch for us. It was really a strange way for a season to end. I did sense that the guys have used that frustration and that anger as some motivation to get themselves right back into the race.”

The teams’ core of nine seniors is looking to produce a happy ending to their careers.

“I think it is a really solid group of seniors and they have been playing well,” said Barlow, noting that the Tigers prevailed in preseason scrimmages against Messiah and Columbia last Saturday. “They have been setting a really good tone.”

Three of those seniors, Thomas Sanner (8 goals and 3 assists in 2014), Nico Hurtado (2 goals, 4 assists), and co-captain Brendan McSherry (3 goals, 4 assists), will be looking to make up for the void left by the loss of Cameron Porter to graduation.

“It is big losing Cam because he created so much in terms of goals for us, drawing penalties and scoring goals himself,” said Barlow of Porter, who tallied 15 goals and four
assists last season as he was named the Ivy Offensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.

“We do have three seniors up there who have played an awful lot. We started with Thomas Sanner at center forward with Nico Hurtado on one side and Brendan McSherry on the other side. Those guys all have a ton of experience, they have been on the field a lot for their first three years. They are good leaders and playmakers. Thomas was the second leading scorer in the league last year behind Cam so we do feel that we still have some weapons.”

Sophomore Daniel Bowkett could emerge as a key weapon for the Tigers this fall.

“The biggest surprise of the preseason so far has been a sophomore, Dan Bowkett from New Zealand, who was injured all last year,” said Barlow, noting that Bowkett was one of the last players cut from New Zealand’s squad for the U-20 World Cup over the summer.

“He has been really, really good. He scored two goals against Columbia. He is an attacking midfielder, right behind Thomas Sanner at the top of the triangle in the midfield.”

The Tigers feature depth in the rest of the midfield, with junior Vikram Podhuri, junior Bryan Windsor, senior Jack Hilger, junior Bryan Costa, senior John Kendall, freshman Jeremy Colvin, and freshman Bryan Prudil.

“We really have a deep team with very little drop off with a lot of guys, especially in the midfield,” said Barlow.

“They are all so close that one day a couple guys look slightly better than the others and it might switch a little bit too. We started the scrimmage with Costa and Kendall behind Bowkett in the midfield and that trio did really well.”

The defense appears set with senior co-captain Josh Miller and junior Mark Romanowski holding down the middle and juniors Greg Seifert and Patrick Barba working on the flanks.

“Josh Miller and Mark Romanowski played center back and they had a really good partnership last year during the winning streak, those two guys were really solid,” said Barlow.

The wide guys we have been using so far for a lot of the reps with the first group have been two juniors, Greg Seifert and Patrick Barba. Both are athletic, both are big, both are good in the air, and solid one-on-one defenders. They have been doing a really good job.”

Senior Ben Hummel (1.30 goals against average in 2014 in 17 starts) and junior Josh Haberman are fighting for the starting goalie job.

“Ben had such a good year last year, he was abroad in Cuba for the spring semester and Josh Haberman took all the reps in the spring,” said Barlow.

“Josh has really, really made it a close battle right now. They both split both games last night. We didn’t give up a goal in either game and they both played really well so it is not settled yet who is No. 1. This is a really important week for us to try and make that judgment.”

In Barlow’s view, it is important for the Tigers to get out of the gate quickly and clean up things on set pieces.

“Trying to get off to a good start is one of the things we have been talking about,” said Barlow, noting that some early losses last season hurt the team’s NCAA chances.

“We were talking as a group that six of the nine goals we gave up in the league had their origins in a restart. We want to be a little better defending restarts and being more productive on offensive restarts.”

Starting at St. John’s, followed by contests at Florida Gulf Coast University on September 10, and Florida International on September
12, gives the Tigers the chance to come together early.

“I think it definitely can be, there is no better team bonding than winning a road game,” said Barlow.

“If we can get a couple of results in the early going, it would be great for our belief and a great thing for our confidence.”

After what Princeton went through last year, Barlow believes the players have developed a mental toughness.

“I think this group has a resiliency, they have been through it, the good times and the tough times,” said Barlow.

“I think they will be able to persevere, whether we have stretches in games where things are tough and conditions are tough. We have a mentality as a group to be able to battle and find ways to figure it out.”