MOMENT OF BRILLIANCE: Princeton University men’s soccer player Gabe Duchovny, left, goes after the ball in a 2023 game. Last Saturday, junior midfielder Duchovny scored the winning goal as Princeton rallied to edge Columbia 2-1. The Tigers, now 6-5 overall and 3-1 Ivy League, host Yale on October 26. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Justin Feil

Gabe Duchovny wasn’t thinking about his shot or he might not have taken it.

It wasn’t a high percentage shot, but the junior midfielder couldn’t have hit his rocket from 30 yards any better for the game-winner in the Princeton University men’s soccer team’s 2-1 comeback win at Columbia on Saturday.

“You don’t really think about those,” said Duchovny, reflecting on his second career goal for the Tigers. “That’s one of the cool parts. It just happens. You just see the ball sit up, I was on the half turn, and it was a bunch of things that turned out pretty well, and I figured I’d have a hit. But it wasn’t a conscious thing, it was more just muscle memory and doing that when you’re little with your friends and I guess that’s what it was. It’s not a shot you’re thinking about at all.”

Duchovny was at home on the shot though. He was playing on a Columbia field that he practiced on for club soccer in high school. And in the crowd were young players from that very Met Oval club team.

“I was there when I was their age, which I couldn’t have been more than 10-11 years old,” said Duchovny, who’s from Brooklyn. “That was like the first more serious stuff I did.”

Duchovny was a hero for them and for the Tigers, with his goal helping to snap a frustrating two-game losing streak. Princeton had been shut out in back-to-back 1-0 losses at home to Cornell and to Army, the latter despite a 17-4 shot advantage for Princeton.

“There was definitely some frustration growing and then to give up a goal on the first corner kick at Columbia and go down early against a team that doesn’t concede many goals on their home field, it was really challenging,” said Princeton coach Jim Barlow. “It was a challenging situation to be in, and I think the guys responded really, really well in the second half. We needed a bunch of big performances and big plays and we got some from a lot of different guys in the second half.”

Princeton did not wilt when Columbia scored five minutes into the game. It wasn’t an ideal start to the game, but the comeback proved the Tigers have no quit.

“It was a hard goal to concede, but I think there’s a lot of resiliency in this group,” said Duchovny. “We have a lot of faith in the team so I don’t think a lot of heads dropped. I think obviously it’s hard to be down at halftime, but I think we kept our minds in it the whole game. We stayed in it and it worked out for us.”

While the defense did its part by shutting out the Lions over the final 85 minutes, the Tigers mounted several solid scoring chances. After still trailing at halftime, Nico Nee snapped the Princeton scoreless streak and gave the Tigers a huge boost of momentum and energy when he dribbled through the Columbia defense to tie the game barely three minutes into the second half.

“Nico Nee’s goal is something that he does in practice – a lot,” said Duchovny. “He’s good and we’ve seen him do that. We’re very happy for him to score a goal like that, especially coming off of an injury. It was a great thing.”

Fifteen minutes later, it was a less expected score. Duchovny had scored only once before in his Princeton career, as a freshman. He came up with an important goal Saturday before anyone could question his decision to shoot.

“It happened so fast you almost didn’t even have time to react like that,” said Barlow. “But I think when you look at the reaction from his teammates, they’re all like dumbfounded, a bunch of guys are just standing with their hands on their heads. Like, did that really go in? But credit to him for having the confidence to turn and know where the goal was and just like he did his freshman year to score on a goal similar to that from the top of the box as well. He picked what he thought was a good opportunity and went for it. We needed a spark like that, and he and Nico provided them.”

The win helped Princeton improve to 6-5 overall, 3-1 in the Ivy League. That mark has them squarely in second place behind unbeaten 4-0 Penn. The Tigers were hoping to build momentum with a game at Fordham slated for October 22 before they host Yale this Saturday.

“We’re playing all right,” said Duchovny. “I think we’re at our best when we’re really working hard and we’re really getting after teams and I think we probably would have wanted to start the Cornell game and the Columbia game a little bit more aggressively. But I think we’re confident in the group that we have and we’re confident that we can push the soccer along and really kind of start connecting and do well.”

Duchovny has been a steady contributor in his three seasons with the Tigers. He came in having to adjust to the Princeton style of playing. The style of play of his club was more focused on possession and often had him bumping the ball back from his defensive midfield spot. Duchovny last summer spent time further digesting that philosophy of play while translating from Italian to English two theses on Roberto De Zerbi’s tactics, but he’s taken to the Princeton philosophy.

“It was a little bit of a culture shock for him, I think,” said Barlow. “And he’s just embraced it and grown with it. The other thing that he’s really done is become a leader. He’s one of the fiercest competitors. He’s totally engaged and into it every day, whatever we’re doing in training he’s pushing his teammates to find a way to win, to not take plays off, to be completely tuned in all the time. And that’s translated into the games too.”

Duchovny has helped bolster the midfield that has been a key to the Tigers’ good start. Princeton has been able to rely on their depth there.

“One of the things that has been really important to our team’s success this year is our ability to cover ground in the midfield, and for the midfield to be a real hardworking engine to disrupt the other team from being able to control possession and keep the ball and to break up plays and then to start our attack and continue our attack by getting good balls forward and connecting good passes,” said Barlow. “And Gabe’s been great in all those areas.”

Two seasons of college soccer helped Duchovny understand the demands of that level and have him even more prepared for this year. Princeton can’t rest of their laurels with three league games still remaining to lock up a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Included in that trio of games is a showdown with current top Ivy team, Penn.

“The keys are just kind of working hard and working for the group,” said Duchovny. “I think we’re really at our best when we play high velocity, aggressive football, which doesn’t mean you’re kicking it long. It doesn’t mean hopeful long balls. But when we’re dictating the tempo of the game and we’re playing on the front foot and we’re taking it to teams, I think that’s when we do well. So as much as we can, playing like that and playing kind of high octane. And also trusting that the connections will come and the passes will come and the interchanges will come with that intensity. That’s the key.”

The Tigers will be looking for more big plays too. Saturday’s game-winner from Duchovny will stand out as an important play that helped Princeton break a losing streak and get back toward the top of Ivy play.

“He’s not a guy that takes a ton of shots,” said Barlow. “To see him just turn and rip it from like 30 yards out and have it just dip under the crossbar, it’s just an amazing, amazing moment for him and for the team.”