The St. John’s Men’s Soccer Team lost 2-1 to Princeton on Sept. 10 and will enter a two-week road trip with a 2-2-2 record.
Within the first 30 minutes of play, Princeton scored two goals, taking advantage of a sluggish St. John’s defense for the whole first half. Sophomore forward Kevin Kelley scored in the 18th minute for the Tigers and junior forward Daniel Ittycheria added the extra goal in the 29th to push the score to an early 2-0 lead.
The match was quiet for the next eight minutes,until both teams received yellow cards, with SJU fifth-year defender Justin Kopay and Princeton freshman forward Roka Tsunehara being the culprits from both sides.
This rough play energized the Red Storm as freshman midfielder Dechlyn Hauge scored the second goal of his career with a heads up play in the 38th minute. Hauge rebounded a blocked shot and placed the ball perfectly in the back of the net, giving St. John’s a much needed goal.
The Red Storm entered the locker room down 2-1 at the half. At the break, the team led in all offensive statistics besides goals. The team led with seven shots compared to the Tigers’ four, alongside four corner kicks compared to Princeton’s two. Both goalies, junior Alec McLachlan for the Johnnies and senior Khamari Hardaway for the Tigers, saved two shots each during the half.
After the break the Johnnies defense played well, holding Princeton to two goals. Frustrating missed opportunities continued to pile up for St. John’s as the score remained 2-1 at full time.
A missed free kick opportunity off of a Princeton handball ended the 89th minute with another missed shot to win the game.
The final box score mirrored the Red Storm’s halftime stats as they put up 13 shots against Princeton’s eight. Both goalies saved four shots the entire game.
The 2-1 final score looks bad for McLachlan, but aside from a weak opening 30 minutes, the even stats show how well the defense recovered and gave the team a real chance in the second half.
The Johnnies travel to West Virginia and face Marshall University for their next game on Sept. 14.
