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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Defeats American 3-0 To Win Season Opener
September 08, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2000
Princeton, N.J. - Behncke scored his first goal of the contest at 31:31 and knocked in his second with 2:18 remaining in the game to lead Princeton to a 3-0 victory over American.
"I thought it was a good game to start with. We weren't as sharp as we'd like, but," said Behncke, "we fought really hard, did a good job of defending, and put away our chances."
While Princeton emerged victorious, the Eagles carried the play in the early stages of the game. Ten minutes into the action the Eagles had a great scoring chance taken away by sophomore goalie, Jason White.
"I was able to see the shot the whole way, said White, "and I deflected it off the cross-bar."
As good as this save was, White would make an even more incredible save midway through the second half. An American forward streaked to the post and redirected a pass, which bounced off the crossbar. An aggressive Eagle forward quickly returned the ball only to be stoned by Princeton's talented young net minder. "I was extremely lucky to make that save," admitted White after the game. His shutout performance gives the Tigers added confidence as he continues to build on his astonishing freshman campaign.
In addition to Behncke and White, Lucas Moskowitz turned in a solid performance as he tallied two assists in Friday's game. Moreover, Princeton freshman, Marty Shaw scored his first collegiate goal in the 76th minute to put Princeton up 2-0, and Gianfranco Tripicchio added his first collegiate assist. While he did not score Friday night, Mike Nugent's speed and aggressiveness were in evidence on both wings.
American, which entered tonight's contest 1-1, suffered a crushing blow when senior co-captain, Bob Brennan, left the game with a separated shoulder early in the first half.
This Sunday the Eagles head home to face the University of Pennsylvania, and the Tigers travel to battle Old Dominion and William & Mary next Friday and Sunday.
- Box score to follow -
Princeton 3 - American 0
Records: Princeton (1-0, 0-0), American (1-2, 0-0).
Scoring First half - Behncke 1 (Moskowitz, Tripicchio) 31:31. Second half - Shaw 1 (Moskowitz) 76:56, Behncke 2 (Unassisted) 87:42.
Goalies Princeton - Jason White: 90 minutes, 0 goals-against, 11 saves American - Michael Gorsegner: 90 minutes, 3 goals-against, 6 saves.
Shots - Princeton 11, American 17, Corner Kicks - Princeton 4, American 4, Yellow Cards - Princeton 4 (Moskowitz, Behncke, Striebel, and Rein), American 2 (B. Colton, Bertsch), Red Cards - None, Attendance - 200.