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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Seton Hall
Men's Soccer Loses Heartbreaker At Seton Hall, 4-3
September 17, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Seton Hall's Eliseo Giusfredi stunned a Princeton team that had just tied the game, scoring on a 60-yard rocket from near midfield with just less than seven minutes left to give the Pirates a 4-3 win in a men's soccer game played at Carroll Field Monday night.
Princeton (0-4) trailed 3-1 midway through the second half before making a comeback, getting goals from Dan Cummins with 14 minutes to go and then Kyle McHugh in the 83rd minute to tie the score and stun the crowd of nearly 900. But Giusfredi then had his own stunner, taking the short kickoff from teammate Andrew Welker and depositing a long ball under the crossbar and into the net just seconds after the Tigers had tied the game.
A frantic final six minutes of action followed that goal, including a Matt Care chance for Princeton that was saved by Seton Hall goalie Paul McHenry and two saves by Princeton goalie Joe Walter on Seton Hall's Brayan Martinez in the final two minutes, but the Pirates held on for the win.
The Tigers trailed 1-0 at halftime despite outshooting Seton Hall 9-3 but quickly tied the game eight minutes into the second half thanks to freshman Brandon Busch. The Tiger freshman stole a Seton Hall clearing attempt and quickly sent a shot to the right of McHenry to tie the score in the 53rd minute of the game.
Seton Hall (3-3) would respond quickly, however, in particular senior Justin McGrath. He scored his first goal in the 59th minute, taking a pass down the middle of the field and finishing the play. Less than six minutes later, McGrath scored again, winning a loose ball in the Princeton end and scoring into the right-hand portion of the net to give his team a 3-1 lead.
Princeton then responded in kind to the Seton Hall run. First, Cummins came up with a loose ball himself near the left side of the box and beat McHenry, making the score 3-2 with 14:17 left in the second half. McHugh's tying goal came courtesy of a crossing pass from Busch, who came into the game as a substitute and contributed both a goal and an assist.
The Tigers outshot Seton Hall 20-14 for the game. Walter had three saves for Princeton, while McHenry had seven saves for Seton Hall.
The teams, who were playing for the 22nd straight season, have combined to score 12 goals in their last two meetings. Princeton defeated Seton Hall 3-2 in overtime at Lourie-Love Field in 2006.
Princeton plays at Stanford Friday night at 10:30 p.m. ET in its first of two games at the Stanford Invitational. The Tigers will play Cal Sunday afternoon in their second tournament game.