Crimson Comes to Town

Brown vs. Harvard. The stage couldn’t be any bigger on Saturday afternoon as we took on the Crimson at Stevenson Field. Harvard made the trip to Providence with high confidence, for they had an 8-game winning streak. The atmosphere at Stevenson Field before kick-off was fantastic. As a result of creative advertising the days before, fans packed the stadium. The team was pumped before the game; many high-fives were given and the phrase “Lets go, boys!” was used a lot.

The game kicked off and the intensity on the field was high. Both teams were filled with excitement to play the beautiful game. Harvard had the better of the play for large parts of the first half, and scored a goal off a cross about 15 minutes into the game.  Tim Schmoll, who is said to resemble a young Peter Crouch, scored the goal. With little chance to score by either side for the rest of the half, both teams went into the locker room. Brown 0, Harvard 1.

Two inspiring half-time speeches were given by Coach Laughlin and Coach Burnett, so the spirits of the team as we walked back onto the field were at an all time high. We came out on fire to start the second half, and were rewarded with an early goal. Jack Gorab sent in a corner kick, and Ben Maurey used his physical strength and athleticism to score one of the greatest no-look back heel goals I have ever witnessed. It was a goal of the season candidate. We continued to play well for large parts of the second half, and were unlucky to take the lead. The 90 minutes finished at 1-1, and overtime was coming.

The two 10-minute overtimes were very intense, and both teams had chances to win the game. However, neither team could find the back of the net, and the game ended in a draw.

We now look forward to another home game against Cornell. We know we must win to keep our hope of the Ivy League Championship alive. “Lets go, boys!”

Welp

VS Boston College

After a tough outing at Princeton, the team prepared both physically and mentally for the Tuesday test at Boston College. We relish every chance to prove we can compete with the best and an ACC opponent in nothing short of just that. We realized we had another chance to improve as a unit and went into the game with a focused mindset, ready for anything BC threw at us.

The day started with a pregame meal at the Ratty, then a short trip on the bus to Boston. The bus ride was quiet, as everyone on the team readied themselves for a fight like Ali before Frazier. Because Boston College’s field is being renovated, the game was set to be played at a neutral site, namely Babson College. As the bus rolled into Babson, the boys were ready to go.

On a warm, sunny afternoon with a slight breeze, there could not have been better conditions for an afternoon of hard-fought soccer. There wasn’t much of a crowd, other than the loyal traveling contingent of parents who chirp louder than a jaybird on a summer day. It was clear the energy was going to have to come from within. The first half begun with fast-paced countering and strong defending with Brown having a small upper hand. The back line had played a huge amount of minutes in a short time, but looked as resilient as ever. With impressive tackles flying from Tim Whalen and Alex Markes, the team hoped to finish that ever-elusive first half goal. Though we had chances, we did not put any into the back of the net. The half ended in a 0-0 tie, but Brown looked the more likely side with a few lovely pieces of work and a team hungry for a victory.

The second half whistle sounded and the teams were back at it. With strong performances from numerous players, the team looked more and more likely to score. Louis Zingas was absolutely flying down the flank, trying to find that magisterial touch necessary to score his first college goal. And that he did. In the 81^st minute, a header from Quinn English found Zingas’ feet and he notched the ball in the back of the net for a 1-0 Brown lead. Unfortunately, 41 seconds later BC found a hole in the defense to equalize, drawing the game to a 1-1 tie. The team fought for the next 28 minutes, through overtime, to secure the tie. In the end, it was a good result on the road against a top opponent.

The game as a whole was a definitive positive note for Brown Men’s Soccer. With 19 players making an appearance, it was clear that the result was that of the team’s. A few brilliant saves from keeper Mitch Kupstas made him look like a young Tim Howard, and kept us in it, while continual pressure allowed us to score the goal. Once again, Brown Men’s Soccer was engaged in a fight, and once again we rose to the task. We are back in action this Saturday with a home game against Harvard at 7 pm. Please tune in to watch online, or come to the game. All support is appreciated, and we plan to get a big win on Stevenson.

- Josh Butler

On the Road in the Ivy

Coming off of a warranted victory in our Ivy-League opener against Columbia, with no mid-week game scheduled, all eyes were on Princeton for BMS. The significance of every Ivy League game goes without saying. The practices leading up to the game were intense and required 100 percent focus by players and coaches alike. Winning on the road in the Ivy League requires an entire game of focus and composure so practices often try and emulate these situations. 

After another good training session on Friday afternoon, we departed for New Jersey. The bus ride was long, just over five hours, but was consumed by dinner on the go provided by Hope Street Pizza, I Am Legend starring Will Smith, and sophomore Jason Pesek’s strongly opinionated statements, regarding tech giants Apple and Samsung. Outbursts and arguments from everyone listening provided plenty of entertainment throughout the ride. Debate on which company produces better products lasted throughout the trip. 

We finally arrived to our hotel around 11:30pm, and shortly after discovered a Bruno invasion of the Princeton hotel, being that Brown women’s soccer and volleyball were both staying the night there as well. The next morning we all woke up ready to play. After fueling up at Oliver Garden for our pre-game lunch, it was game time. Everyone had the proper mentality. We knew the dreary Princeton weather wasn’t going away, so rain would be a factor as well. 

At the start of the first half, we came out flying. Movement up top was good, and neither composure nor focus was lacking for us. Eleven minutes into the game senior captain Ben Maurey found himself down deep in Princeton territory and fired the ball across the eighteen-yard box. Senior captain Daniel Taylor brilliantly dummied the ball at the top of the box to a wide open Jack Gorab who shot low and hard on the slippery surface, deflecting off of a Princeton player, into the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead for us. After a slight plateau of intensity, we ended up making it to halftime still ahead of the Tigers 1-0. 

The whistle blew to begin the second half, and right from the start we could tell that this game was far from over. Princeton was not going to roll over and hand us a victory. They were pressing to get an equalizer. With twenty minutes left in the contest, Princeton served a ball into the box and drew a controversial penalty kick that could have been called either way. They netted the penalty and the game was back to even with just under twenty minutes left. At this point, momentum had swung in favor of the Tigers. Fifteen minutes later Princeton would strike again which proved to be the difference in the game. 

A final push from us fell short and we were edged 2-1 in a typical Ivy-League battle. Overall, it was a great game against a worthy opponent that took every ounce of effort from individuals on both teams. We learned a valuable lesson of staying dialed into a game for the full 90 minutes in every game, especially Ivy-League match ups. Although the minor set back, we will be ready to bounce back with the same intensity and determination in every game starting with Boston College this Tuesday. We are very enthusiastic and confident about playing a worthy non-conference opponent that will challenge us and give us another opportunity to get better.

All for now, 

LZ.

Name: Courage The Nittany Lions

Our first Ivy League game of the season. Despite the importance of every game, there is always something special about every game played in the Ivy League. It seems as though the rivalry between Ivy teams creates an even better atmosphere; everyone runs a little bit harder, tackles a little bit stronger, and fights to prove their team deserves to be #1 this year. This season we’ve had our ups and downs; our win against Boston University and our loss against South Florida. But this was almost a fresh start for us, a chance to qualify to the NCAA tournament through winning the Ivy League.

           

Columbia is a good team regardless of their year’s success or failure, so we knew that is was going to be a hard fought game. Their game plan was to control the midfield, as their center mids did a good job of moving the ball and switching the field.  From the opening minutes, that’s what we looked to do. We looked to make the lives of Columbia’s defenders uncomfortable, and the boys did just that. In the first half, we looked to be the better of the teams, in which our movement was rewarding with a couple chances at goal. One such chance was the best sequence of play I have ever seen in college soccer. Jack Gorab received the ball, where he passed to Eduardo Martin, who then one-timed a pass to Daniel Taylor, who then played it back to Eduardo Martin, from which he played a magisterial one-timed pass across the box to Jack Gorab. Jack then tried a one-time shot that was unluckily hit straight at the keeper.

            That sequence summed up the first half for Brown, despite a Columbia chance off a free kick that was hit wide, as well as header from Daniel Taylor that went just wide. When the half time whistle blew, we knew going into the locker room that we could win this game. Coach told us what we needed to do, and that we needed to keep fighting in order to win the game. As the second half progressed, Columbia started finding more rhythm in their play, which resulted in them getting some shots on goal as well as some shots wide. Mitch Kupstas made some nice saves, in which all five shots on goal throughout the game were saved by him.

The rain was coming down on and off throughout the game, making it an even better environment to play in. Despite the rain, some of the men’s wrestling team showed up to show their support, proving their allegiance to the men’s soccer team in which they haven’t missed a single home game this season. As the game progressed, the play between the teams who were both fighting for a goal became a little chippy, resulting in a combination of 26 fouls throughout the game. There were chances created on both sides of the pitch, causing fans and players alike to get more anxious as it looked like the game was going into overtime. That was until, in the 88^th minute when the team fought hard to get a corner. Jack Gorab put in a great curling ball into the box that reached Daniel Taylor at the back post, who headed back across the box into the sea of Columbia and Brown players. The ball bounced around before captain Ben Maurey got a foot on it and buried it into the back of the net. The whole team ran to the bench to celebrate with them, with Jack Gorab sliding into the side lines.

The game personified what Brown Men’s Soccer is all about: we fight together until the final whistle. Throughout the game, we never gave up and fought for each other on and off the pitch. It didn’t matter how the goal happened, it was the fact that we took advantage of our chance in the dying minutes, and we were able to put away a very good Columbia team in the first Ivy League game of the season. This was also our fourth game without giving a single goal-credit is deserved to the defense and Mitch- as well as a great way to start the Ivy League season. This weekend we will continue fighting for the Ivy League title away at Princeton on October 11^th at 4:00 P.M. Please tune into the Ivy League Network to watch, or follow along to the live stats provided through the Brown Men’s Soccer Schedule page.