Tigers Earn Gold at Maccabiah Games

Princeton soccer players Josh Haberman '17 and Benjamin Issroff '20, along with assistant coach David Goldstein '17 captured gold for USA at the Maccabiah Games on Sunday, July 16 in Israel.

The trio began group play on July 5 with a 3-0 shutout of Venezuela before dropping its only match of the tournament to Great Britain, 1-0. USA rebounded quickly with a 2-0 win over Australia the next day to finish 2-1 in the group and second with six points, one behind Great Britain, a squad that went 2-0-1 for seven points.

In the quarterfinals on July 12, the USA defeated Uruguay 2-1 to set up a semifinal against the host nation Israel the next day. The Red, White and Blue prevailed with a 2-1 decision that would once again pit them against Great Britain.

Learning from their previous game, the coaching staff made tactical decisions and the team played a solid 90 and captured a 3-0 shutout in the gold medal game.

Head coach Preston Goldfarb noted the team's changes in the gold medal game that helped the team to victory. Benji Issroff was moved from defensive mid to center back "as he was taller to help combat their superior height up front. It worked to perfection." His compliments for the Tigers continued with: "Our other keeper, Josh Haberman, did an outstanding job as well" and "I also want to thank our assistant coach, David Goldstein for his devotion and loyalty to our team and to me. We couldn't have done it without you."

This is the first time the USA has won back-to-back gold medal at the Maccabiah Games.

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Josh Haberman

Benjamin Issroff

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