Diaz Bonilla Strikes Late To Secure Draw In Men's Soccer Opener

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Men's Soccer

October 4, 4PM

vs Brown

Princeton, N.J.

Men's Soccer

October 11, 4PM

at Cornell

Ithaca, N.Y.

Men's Soccer

October 14, 7PM

at JMU

Harrisonburg, Va.

Men's Soccer

October 18, 4PM

vs Columbia

Princeton, N.J.

Men's Soccer

October 21, 5PM

vs Bryant

Princeton, N.J.

Daniel Diaz Bonilla salvaged a tie for Princeton on the road at Rutgers, banging home his own rebound in the 77th minute and securing a 1-1 draw in the 2022 debut for the Tigers.

After conceding the first goal late in the opening half, Princeton put their foot on the gas in the second half in search of the equalizer. The first three offensive forays of the second half were a tad too aggressive from the Tigers – each resulting in an offside whistle and the third flag-raising negating a potential tying goal.

Undaunted, Princeton built towards its first goal of the season in the final 15 minutes, finally connecting off a restart. While the initial free kick offering from Malik Pinto was headed away, it was the Tigers who gathered the ensuing loose ball. Issa Mudashiru slipped a pass over to Henry Roberts who then executed a sweet self-pass by a defender and sent a low, bounding cross to goal. Diaz Bonilla's first attempt was snuffed out, but he was true on the rebound and brought the Tigers back level.

Harry Roberts with an okie doke around a defender and his long cross gives Diaz Bonilla two cracks at the can.

On the second, we are tied. pic.twitter.com/LeExcPDpYE
— Princeton Men's Soccer (@TigerMensSoccer) September 3, 2022

The tie is the first for Princeton since a 0-0 draw with Penn on November 9, 2019 – a span of 1,028 days and 19 matches. Last season, all 18 of Princeton's matches ended with a winner.

The Tigers had the first true dangerous chance of the match in the 15th minute when Mateo Godoy charged up the left flank and sent a shot toward the far post which the Rutgers keeper just got his fingertips on to send wide.

Five minutes later, Princeton again put the pressure on Rutgers with a quick counter attack initiated by Malik Pinto which found Jack Jasinski in space down the right wing. Jasinski tried to loop a cross to a sliding Walker Gillespie, but the pass was just out of reach and sailed out of bounds with the game remaining scoreless.

The near misses for the Tigers seemed to flip the field in the opposite direction as the Scarlet Knights carried play the rest of the half. William Watson denied two Rutgers chances from close range over the next 20 minutes before the Scarlet Knights finally broke through in the 41st minute when Jackson Temple found an opening just outside the six-yard area and tapped in a cross from Ola Maeland from along the end line.

William Watson made four saves in his collegiate debut in goal. He had two stops in each half, including a diving stop in the 47th minute to keep Princeton within a goal and give his team a chance to claw back.

??The Stop From William Watson. pic.twitter.com/w6qITjDi7B
— Princeton Men's Soccer (@TigerMensSoccer) September 3, 2022

In addition to Watson, five freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the match. Jack Jasinski – who recorded an assist on Diaz Bonilla's goal – and Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch earned starts, while Daniel Ittycheria, Sam Vigilante and Gabriel Duchovny each came off the bench for crucial minutes.

The Tigers make their home debut on September 5, hosting Vermont at 4 p.m. at Sherrerd Field.

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