GREEN DAY: Princeton University men’s soccer player Patrick Barba heads the ball in a 2014 game. Last Saturday, junior defender Barba and Princeton came up just short as the Tigers fell 1-0 at Dartmouth in the Ivy League opener for both teams. Princeton, which dropped to 3-3-1 overall and 0-1 Ivy with the loss to the Big Green, play at Brown (5-3 overall, 1-0 Ivy) on October 10. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Having started 1-2, the Princeton University men’s soccer team appeared to be on the right track, winning two straight games by a combined margin of 5-2 as it edged Boston University 2-1 before topping Binghamton 3-1.

But stumbling last week, Princeton tied American University 1-1 on September 29 and then fell 1-0 at Dartmouth last Saturday in the Ivy League opener for both teams.

In the tie with American, Princeton was outshot for just the second time this season as the Eagle built a shooting margin of 21-9.

In the view of Princeton head coach Jim Barlow, that stat was an accurate reflection of a subpar performance by the Tigers.

“We were disappointed in the game against American in part because we didn’t think it was one of our better games,” said Barlow.

“It was a combination of American being pretty good on the night and us not being as sharp as we needed to. At the end of the day we were frustrated in a lot of ways. We were frustrated that we didn’t play better, we were frustrated that we gave them a lot of chances. We also felt that until the end that we could still win the game. I give our guys a lot of credit for not conceding another goal on a night when things weren’t going too well for us.”

Coming into the clash at Dartmouth, the Tigers were looking sharper with the ball.

“I think in the couple of days leading up to Dartmouth we were trying to get back to moving the ball better,” said Barlow.

“We couldn’t seem to connect our passes against American and we seemed to turn it over in too many parts of the field where they could move forward quickly and punish us. Dartmouth is a similar team that is good on the counterattack. We spent a lot of time to become a little safer and sharper with our passes. That was the focus leading into the Dartmouth game.”

In the early stages of the game against the Big Green, Princeton was looking good on the offensive end.

“The first part of the game, we were really happy with how we were playing,” said Barlow.

“We jumped on top of them, we got into their end. We were keeping the ball, we were stretching them out. You could sense a little bit of frustration on Dartmouth’s side because they were home but they weren’t getting the ball. There were a couple of plays where we lost it and they were dangerous on the counter but nothing came of it.

But Dartmouth scored against the run of the play in the 10th minute as the Tigers suffered a defensive lapse, botching a clear in front of their goal.

“The goal that we gave up was just really, really frustrating; it is something that we have to continue to improve on,” said Barlow.

“It was a very similar goal to the goal we gave up against Florida International (a 2-1 loss on September 12). We felt like we started the game really well and gave up a goal like that. It is still so early in the game that you are not too rattled. We thought things were going well but it is always so hard when you give up a soft goal to get out of it.”

It looked like Princeton might get out of it when a Dartmouth player got a red card with 15 minutes left in the first half and the Big Green had to play a man down the rest of the contest. But while the Tigers outshot the Big Green 11-6 on the game and 8-1 in the second half, they never found the back of the net in the 1-0 setback.

“They did a really good job of not giving away any space in their end; they kept everyone really deep,” said Barlow.

“We had a lot of crosses, we had a lot of free kicks, we had a lot of possession in their end. We just couldn’t get the shot off at the right time. We couldn’t generate enough really, really good chances. They made it really crowded in and around the box. We passed the ball really well, we had the ball in their end but we didn’t get dangerous enough. It was certainly a game at the end of the day that all of our guys felt like how did we not win this game when were were in their end the whole time.”

Although the loss stung, Princeton feels like it can emulate last year’s performance when it went 8-0-1 after suffering an early season loss to Dartmouth.

“We have still got a lot of games left,” said Barlow. “We were in this position last year and we wound up getting on a really good streak and having a really good run. We think in the Ivy League that there is so much parity that one loss is not the end of the world.”

In order to get on that kind of run, the Tigers need to be tougher around the goal.

“We just have to get a little bit better in front of both goals,” asserted Barlow.

“In every game we have lost, we have outshot our opponent. That is frustrating because it says you are not doing well enough with your chances and you are giving away too many goals when you are not giving away that many chances. We need to do a better job staying tight defensively in the right moments and figuring out ways to put teams away when we are on top of them.”

Barlow, for his part, believes that his team has the mentality to figure things out as it gets back into Ivy play with a game at Brown (5-3 overall, 1-0 Ivy) on October 10.

“It is a challenge to the leadership on the team and the seniors,” said Barlow. “We have lot of guys who have been through it before and they know what it takes; we will see over the next few games how they respond to the adversity of not playing well and getting a tie against American and then losing the first Ivy game. I think our guys have the character and resolve to weather it.”