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Princeton University Athletics
Men's Soccer Has High Hopes As 2006 Season Begins
August 28, 2006 | Men's Soccer
The 2006 Princeton men's soccer team gets the honor of playing in the first Tiger athletic event of the 2006-07 season. Those who head out to Lourie-Love Field Friday night to see the Tigers face Stanford will certainly see a different group than last hit the turf this past November.
Eight seniors graduated in June, and five of those players were starters at some point in every year of their careers. Six of them were pretty much full-time starters a year ago, when Princeton rebounded from a slow start to finish 3-3-1 in the Ivy League and 6-8-3 overall.
That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't plenty of reason for optimism in 2006. Three All-Ivy picks are back, led by all-region defender and team captain Jame Wunsch, and junior Kyle McHugh will lead an attacking group that should be bolstered by several new faces. Along with Wunsch, Matt Kontos and Robbie Morgenroth will lead a strong defensive unit.
Find out more about the 2006 Princeton men's soccer season below...
What's the story in 2006?
An unusually large and experienced group of eight seniors played their final game in a Princeton uniform last November against Yale, so the makeup of the Tiger starting 11 against Stanford Sept. 1 will certainly be a bit new.
A closer inspection, however, reveals that plenty of 2005 experience is back. Three 2005 All-Ivy picks should be starters, and several more are legitimate candidates for those honors this season.
“Maybe there isn't the same pressure with this group because it's a bit more unproven, but we're really excited about this season,” says 11th year head coach Jim Barlow. “If you take some of the play we had later in the year and add a good incoming class, it gives us plenty of reason for optimism.”
Who wears the armband?
Princeton's team captain in 2006 is senior Jame Wunsch, who has started all of Princeton's 51 games in his first three seasons. The prototypical center back at 6-feet-2, Wunsch was a second-team all-region and first-team All-Ivy pick a year ago. In addition to his marking abilities, Wunsch's height and athleticism allow him to be a factor on set pieces.
“He's really our anchor back there,” says Barlow. “He had a great year last season and a terrific spring and is a very deserving captain.”
Where is the experience?
On defense, where Barlow can count on a group that features two returning All-Ivy performers in Jame Wunsch and Matt Kontos and another defensive midfielder type in Matt Care, also an All-Ivy pick as a rookie. Add in junior Robbie Morgenroth, who missed several games last season due to injury, and senior Zach Schwarz, an experienced player who will likely move to defense in 2006, and the Tigers feel confident in their ability to contain opposing groups.
“We have a strong nucleus defensively,” said Barlow, whose team allowed just six goals in eight Ivy League games a year ago. “It's a good group with several leaders, and we're confident in their abilities.”
Who's the man in goal?
Whoever it is, it's a player who has never seen action in a varsity game prior to the 2006 season. Princeton enters the year with two goalies on its roster in senior Justin Oppenheimer and sophomore Joe Walter, both of whom watched All-Ivy goalie Bobby Guelich play every minute of every game last season.
“It will be a situation where those two guys are competing for a spot,” says Barlow. “In the spring, both of them made a lot of progress and showed great potential. We'll use the preseason to see who will be in there during the year.”
Who's up top?
Kyle McHugh returned to Princeton in 2005 after a year away and was extremely active in his attacking role, leading the team with 39 shots. With the graduation of attacking players like Darren Spicer and Adrian Melville, McHugh will be counted on to be a finisher for the Tigers in 2006.
“Kyle is terrific with the ball at his feet,” says Barlow. “He had an excellent spring and has a chance to have a great season.”
Barlow also feels that his attacking group will have greater depth in 2006, with as many as six players vying for time in a two-attacker formation. Sophomore Jason Adams and junior Ted Wolfson, each of whom played significant roles last season, are candidates for starting positions on attack in 2006.
Is it really all about family?
Two current Tigers, sophomore Jason Adams and freshman Max Hare, are each the third members of their family to play at Princeton for Barlow. Another Tiger sophomore, Pat Farrell, is the sister of Meghan Farrell, who plays for Princeton's women's team.
Will there be something new about the home of the Tigers?
Plans for a new “soccer park” facility at Princeton were unveiled recently, and the facility is expected to be fully complete by 2008. Permanent stands will be constructed on three sides of the current Lourie-Love Field, which will be lowered to create a bowl-like effect.
Who's on tap?
Princeton's home schedule is a good one in 2006, beginning with an opening matchup with Stanford and highlighted by an excellent stretch of games midway through the season.
That four-game homestand includes night games at Lourie-Love Field against BIG EAST powers Saint John's and Seton Hall and Ivy League matchups with Dartmouth and Brown, each of whom earned an Ivy championship a season ago.
“We're fortunate to have such qualify opposition coming to play here this year,” says Barlow. “It's certainly a challenging schedule, but it's nothing we're not used to.”
Perhaps the biggest challenge will be a six-game stretch away from home in September, including games at Rutgers, Yale and Bucknell in a seven-day span.
Who's new?
Six members of the Princeton class of 2010 will join the Tigers in 2006, a group that features talent all over the field from all over the country.
Coming the shortest distance is midfielder Ben Harms, who played at Barlow's alma mater, Hightstown High School, just a few minutes away from Princeton. Coming the furthest is Danny Steiner, a defender from outside Los Angeles.
Those two will be joined by Hare, from Richmond, Va., Dion Bubar-Hall, from Colorado, Nate Krinsky, from New Hampshire, and Devin Muntz, from Pennsylvania.
What else is news?
• The Tigers will celebrate the “100 Years of Princeton Soccer” in 2006, featuring a commemorative logo and several special events throughout the season. Princeton's first game came in 1906, when the Tigers defeated the Merion Cricket Club. The Tigers' first game against an intercollegiate opponent came the next year, when Princeton faced its oldest rival, Columbia.
• Jim Barlow, who took over the Princeton program at the age of 27, is now in his 11th year as head coach. Barlow, 76-68-28 in his first 10 seasons, now needs nine victories to move into third place all-time at Princeton behind 29-year coach Jimmy Reed (132) and Bob Bradley '80 (92), Barlow's collegiate coach.
• Due to the new NCAA tournament schedule, which begins a week earlier than in previous years, Princeton's season ends a week earlier than in recent years. The Tigers' matchup with Yale, which has been their final regular-season game for the last 10 years, will be played in September this season.