FRESH APPROACH: Princeton University men’s soccer player Ben Martin controls the ball in recent action. Last Friday, freshman midfielder Martin tallied a goal and an assist as Princeton edged Boston University 2-1 to post its second straight win. Martin was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week and the Ivy League co-Rookie of the Week for his performance. The Tigers, who improved to 2-2 with the win, host Fairleigh Dickinson University on September 24. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After losing its first two games, getting outscored 4-1 in the process, the Princeton University men’s soccer team found itself locked in a 0-0 stalemate in the second half against No. 22 Rider last week and needing a lift to avoid a 0-3 start.

Moving senior defender Greg Seifert to forward, the Princeton attack came alive, notching three goals and pulling away to a 3-1 victory. Seifert scored the last two goals of the contest, tallying at 78:16 to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead and then adding an insurance goal four minutes later.

Princeton head coach Jim Barlow saw the win over Rider as a major step forward after the rough beginning to the season.

“Rider is a really good team, they had us on the ropes a little bit,” said
Barlow.

“We decided to put Seifert up there to give us a little more of a threat to get behind the defense and get on the end of things. Seifert wound up doing well, he took an assist from Dan Bowkett for the winning goal. Then after that, when Rider started pressing, he got behind them for the last goal. It was a good response from our guys, it gave them some confidence, beating a really good team that hadn’t lost yet.”

Last Friday against visiting Boston University, the Tigers produced another good effort as they rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to earn a 2-1 victory.

Senior midfielder Vikram Pothuri got the Tigers on the board, finding the back of the net just three minutes
after the tally by the
Terriers.

“Shortly after they went ahead, we got a restart and Mark Romanowski hit a long restart to the top of their box, Ben Martin got up and won the header and Vik one-timed it out of the air over the keeper’s head, it was a really nice goal,” said Barlow.

“Vik wound up not starting that game so it was great to see him deal with the fact that he wasn’t in the starting lineup. He came in off the bench and within his first 10 minutes, he scored a goal. He played great the rest of the game also.”

The Tigers held the fort after that, keeping their shape on the defensive end.

“BU is a very good team, they were Patriot League champions last year and they have pretty much everybody back from last year’s team,” said Barlow.

“They are really solid, they had the ball for good stretches and they had some good chances. They had a lot of shots but they didn’t have a ton of really great goal scoring opportunities. Our team defense was pretty solid throughout the game. I thought our guys covered a lot of ground, especially Brian Costa and Matt Mangini in the midfield. They did a great job keeping it together.”

The game-winning tally came on a great effort by precocious freshman midfielder Ben Martin.

“We scored a really good goal to go up 2-1, it was a pass from Henry Martin to Bowkett and then Bowkett saw Ben Martin make the run from behind the defense and played it behind the defense. Ben just beat the goalkeeper and scored from a tight angle.”

The combination of freshman Marin and junior Bowkett has jump-started the Tiger attack.

“It is great to see Ben stepping up and giving us a big boost,” said Barlow of Martin, who was later named the Ivy League Player of the Week and the Ivy League co-Rookie of the Week for his heroics.

“He is athletic, he has got good speed. He has got a nose for the goal. He has been able to cover a lot of ground and it has been a real pleasant surprise that he has been ready to step in so quickly and contribute. Bowkett is a really clever passer and he has great ability to deliver the ball the right way and at the right time. He sees a lot of things on the attack.”

With two straight wins, Princeton is poised to make a run. “We are a lot further along now than we were a week ago in every aspect, in our ability to go forward effectively, and our team defending,” said Barlow.

“I think we are a little bit tighter defensively. I think there is a little more confidence and I do think the group understands what kind of things are our strengths like our ability to defend in the midfield and then when we win it, to get forward quickly, and create chances on the run.”

Barlow is looking for his team to get even better in limiting scoring chances by its foes.

“The next step we have been talking about is just trying to get through games with shutouts,” added Barlow.

“We haven’t been able to do that yet, we are hoping that we can just continue to tighten things up defensively and get through games without conceding.”

Looking ahead to a home game against Fairleigh Dickinson University (2-5) on September 24, Barlow is hoping Princeton can keep on the winning track.

“We still feel like this is one of the deepest teams we have had here, we have been playing a lot of guys, especially in the attack,” said Barlow, citing the play of Seifert, Jeremy Colvin, Will Lentz, and Sean McSherry at forward along with the midfield work of Martin, Bowkett, Pothuri, Harry Heffernan, Bryan Prudhil, and Bryan Windsor.

“We have a bunch of guys who give us different options, all of those guys have played and contributed. In different games, I think we are going to need different people to step up and help us get the job done. This past week was a step in the right direction.”