All good things must come to an end. For the No. 15 men's soccer team (7-1-2, 1-1-0 Ivy), last Saturday's 3-0 away loss to Princeton (6-3-2, 2-0-0 Ivy) ended Bruno's nine game unbeaten streak.
"It was the first letdown we've had this season," said defender David Walls '11. "To lose in the fashion we did is very difficult to take."
Princeton capitalized early in the game on a free kick from 20 yards out. Just shy of the 16-minute mark, the ball was headed by forward Matt Sanner into the path of midfielder Lester Nare, who drilled it into the back of the net.
This goal marks the first allowed by goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand '11 since Indiana scored against him on Sept. 17.
"The things about Princeton that gave us problems are sadly the things we normally do the best," said forward Austin Mandel '12. "We were out-scrapped and out-battled by them, something we are used to saying about our opponents after a victory. We also lost the aerial game, another thing we pride ourselves on and normally dominate."
Brown outshot Princeton 16-10 in the game, but shots on goal were tied at five apiece. The Bears were only able to take one shot from their twelve corner kick opportunities.
The Tigers scored their final two goals midway through the second half. At 58 minutes, a cross into the box was headed into the net by defender Mark Linnville. In the 70th minute, Lester found the goal again as he headed in a corner kick.
Sean Lynch, the Princeton goalkeeper, exited the game in the 68th minute after a hard collision with Brown forward Sean Rosa '12.5. But Brown could not take advantage of the substitution, as backup goalkeeper Max Gallin made two saves in his 22 minutes of work.
The Bears see the loss as an opportunity to improve as they head into another key Ivy League game against Harvard Saturday at Stevenson Field.
"You can expect a pumped and excited team in our next game, wanting to get ourselves the right path once again," Mandel said. "We play for keeps, something we forgot about last game," but the team plans to "remember it as we take on Harvard."
Harvard (4-3-4, 1-0-1 Ivy), ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) top 25 poll earlier in the season, is coming off a double-overtime win against Cornell.
A win would move Brown up in the Ivy League standings — they are currently tied for fourth with Dartmouth. The loss against Princeton only dropped the Bears two spots in the national rankings, as they moved down from No. 13.
