Princeton University
Syracuse
Princeton Opens 2017 Season at No. 8 Syracuse & Colgate
August 30, 2017 | Men's Soccer
| Games 1 & 2: Princeton at Syracuse and Colgate | |
| Game Time | Friday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. l SU Soccer Stadium |
| Sunday, Sept. 3 at 4 p.m. l Beyer-Small '76 Field | |
| Game Coverage | Friday: no video l Live Stats Sunday: Live Video l Live Stats |
| Princeton | Roster l Schedule l Stats l |
| Syracuse | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @CuseMSOS l 2-0 |
| Colgate | Roster l Schedule l Stats l @ColgateMSOC l 0-2 |
Princeton doesn't waste time jumping into the 2017 season facing two teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including preseason No. 8 Syracuse on Friday, Sept. 1 at SU Soccer Stadium. The game is part of the Central New York Classic, with the Tigers then facing Colgate on Sunday, Sept. 3 in Hamilton, N.Y.
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Princeton and Syracuse have never met before, while this will be the fourth meeting between Princeton and Colgate. Princeton is 2-1 in the series, which just began in 2007, with the last game being a 3-1 victory in Hamilton.
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Princeton returns five of its starters from last year's squad which posted a 7-7-3 record. The hardest hit area is the defense, as the Tigers lost two key defenders and its goalkeeper. Junior Henry Martin will have to play a larger role this year, while sophomore Benjamin Issroff played exceptionally well in the spring games in Portugal. Senior James Reiner and sophomore Bobby Hickson are expected to carry some of the load as well. Sophomore Jacob Schachner appeared in four games in goal last year and had a .700 save percentage. Three others will challenge him for a starting spot, including two rookies. The Tigers will look for more options on offense. In each of the last four years Princeton has had the leading scorer in the Ivy League with last year's defender-to-striker Greg Seifert being a surprise. Again this year, anyone could emerge as the team's top scoring threat. Junior Sean McSherry and sophomore Benjamin Martin were second and third on the team in scoring a year ago, while junior Jeremy Colvin, senior Daniel Bowkett, senior Nicholas Badalamenti and junior Will Lentz provide depth, as well as senior Matthew Mangini who will most likely anchor the midfield.
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Syracuse was 12-4-4 in the 2016 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament with a first-round bye, followed by a 3-0 shutout of Dartmouth before a 1-0 defeat to final four squad North Carolina. The team is off to a 2-0 start with a 2-1 OT win over St. Louis and a 2-1 win over SIUE - an opponent on Princeton's schedule as well - thanks to a goal in the final 30 seconds. The game winners came from two freshmen – Peter Strangeland and Tajon Buchanan. Other goal scorers include junior Jonathan Hagman who was second on the team in scoring last year, and Johannes Pieles. Junior Hendrik Hilpert has made four saves on six shots in his third year as the starting keeper.
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Colgate is coming off of a 13-7-2 season in which it won the Patriot League Tournament, defeating American in penalty kicks to receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders lost 4-2 in the first round at UCLA. The squad returns six of its 11 from last year and is 0-2 on the season with one-goal losses to New Hampshire and Binghamton. Karl Brown has scored the lone goal this season, while last year's second leading scorer Jared Stroud has one assist. Goalkeeper Peter Tappenden has made nine saves on 12 shots
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