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.