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Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
UMBC
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UMBC Ends Princeton's Run in 2-1 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Game
November 19, 2010 | Men's Soccer
PRINCETON, N.J. (10/18/10) - The finish to the Princeton men's soccer 2010 season came a bit too early as the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers upset the No. 10-ranked Tigers 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 18 on Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium.
It was a hugely physical contest that Princeton seemed to dominate from the opening kick. The Tigers kept the ball down in their attacking third nearly the entire first half with goalkeeper Sean Lynch not having to make a single save in the first frame.
Junior Antoine Hoppenot put Princeton on the scoreboard in the 32nd minute with one of the more impressive goals to be scored on Myslik Field, when he scored on a corner kick as the ball bent in and went in on the far post.
Ten minutes later UMBC tied the game on a rebound. Andrew Bulls rifled a low shot from the top of the 18 that bounced off the near post just past the outstretched hands Lynch and back out onto the field. Retrievers' leading scorer, and 2009 NCAA leading scorer, Levi Houapeu was already on his way to the goal and was able to send it into the open net.
It was a tough second half for the Tigers as they lost two starters with injuries. Senior center midfielder Tim Sedwitz sustained an ankle injury in the closing minutes of the first half and sophomore Lester Nare was taken to the hospital with a concussion. Two other players, senior midfielder Walburn and senior center back Benjamin Burton, had to leave the game due to blood from head injuries caused by elbows on two separate plays but both would return to the game.
UMBC's Bulls and Houapeu teamed up again for the game winner in the 79th minute. A through ball was delivered to Houapeu and he crossed the ball across the field to Bulls. Bulls beat keeper Lynch on the one-on-one with a shot to the lower left corner.
Princeton had two great chances to find the equalizer. Walburn had a shot hit the cross bar in the 65th minute and sophomore Matt Sanner had a hard hit header get saved by keeper Dan Louisignau. Louisignau was a big difference marker in the game, as the senior keeper finished with a career-best 10 saves."We all thought we were going to win," Princeton head coach Jim Barlow said. "Even up until that very last minute. This team has had stretches like that where we've been pounding other teams and not been able to put them away but eventually we put them away. The confidence was still there. The energy on the bench was still there. Everyone believed up and to the end that okay we gave away a goal with 13 minutes left, but we have plenty of time to get one and I thought we were going to get one."
Princeton outshot UMBC 28-15 and had 11 shots on goal to UMBC's three. The Tigers also had the edge in corner kicks 6-2.
"We started the season 1-3-1," Barlow said. "I don't think anyone at that point would have expected us to go 7-0 run through the league and a 12-game winning streak and the seniors were a huge part of keeping the team together through all of that," Barlow said in referencing his 10-member senior class.
Despite the loss, which in the moment stings, in a few days this team can look back and be proud of what it has accomplished. Princeton ran the table in the Ivy League recording the program's first 7-0 sweep, matched the program record for wins in a season and set the program's longest win streak with 12 straight victories.