Tigers to Face Akron in NCAA First Round

Thursday, November 21

Akron, Ohio

6:00 PM

Princeton University

Akron

November 20, 2024 | Men's Soccer

NCAA First Round
Princeton (12-6, 5-2) vs. Akron (11-4-4)
November 21 (Thurs.) | 6:00 p.m. | Akron, Ohio
Live Stats | ESPN+

PRINCETON, N.J. – After earning an automatic bid by winning the Ivy League Tournament on Sunday, the No. 8 Princeton men's soccer team will travel to Akron, Ohio to face the Akron Zips on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the FirstEnergy Stadium.

This is Princeton's 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the first since 2021.

About the Tigers

Princeton got an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after taking down no. 12 Penn 3-1 on Sunday for the Ivy League Tournament championship title, also bringing the squad's RPI to 17th nationally. It was Princeton's first appearance in the Ivy League tournament after the inaugural tournament last year.
Following the win, Princeton was ranked eighth in the latest TopDrawerSoccer rankings.
Three Tigers scored in the championship game, including Daniel Ittycheria, Nico Nee and Ian Nunez.
The goal was Ittycheria's third of the tournament, after he scored Princeton's first goal and the game-winner in the Tigers' 3-2 comeback overtime win against no. 16 Cornell in the Ivy semifinal.
Nee also scored an 83rd minute equalizer in the semifinal to keep the Tigers' season alive, and with his goal on Sunday the senior has scored four goals in four games for Princeton.
Jack Jasinski assisted three of Princeton's six goals from the weekend. The junior leads the Tigers in assists with nine on the season.
For their performances, Ittycheria, Jasinski, Nee and Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch were named to the Ivy All-Tournament Team. Ittycheria was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Also this week, Ittycheria was named the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Week while the Tigers were named Team of the Week.
Whitchurch was also named to the First Team All-Ivy following the regular season, while Ittycheria and Jasinski earned Second-Team Honors.
Liam Beckwith, Jack Hunt, Nico Nee and Roka Tsunehara were also named to the Honorable Mention list.
Ittycheria leads the Tiger offense with nine goals on the season and one assist for 19 points.
Kevin Kelley and Will Francis have three goals apiece this season, as 11 Tigers have scored this season.
Sophomore Andrew Samuels has seen action in nine games, recording two shutouts and 26 saves on the season for a 0.90 GAA.
Three different goalkeepers have earned shutouts for Princeton this season, including Samuels, senior captain Khamari Hadaway and fellow senior Will Watson.
The Tiger defense has a goals-allowed average of just 1.16, the third-best in the Ivy League.
Princeton is the only team in the NCAA Tournament to have had zero draws on the season.
The Tigers are ranked 20th nationally and first in the Ivy League in corner kicks, registering an average of 6.17 per game.

About the New Tigers

The Tigers' Class of 2028 was ranked the no. 13 recruiting class by TopDrawerSoccer, including Cyrus Klinenberg (No. 77), Kristian Kelley (No. 82), Roka Tsunehara (No. 113), Dash Papez (No. 116), and Nathan Salerno.
The Tiger newcomers have already made significant contributions to the Orange and Black's success. Tsunehara has been a mainstay in the Tiger starting XI, recording two assists this season, including an assist on the game-winner from Friday's Ivy semifinal.
Kelley has three starts to his credit after seeing action in 14 games.
A pair of new Tigers hail from the D.C. United academy system in Papez and Zhang. Papez has six starts and an assist on the season across seven games this season so far, while Zhang has also notched one start and a goal, seeing action in seven games. The two led their team to win the U16 MLS Next Cup Playoffs while making deep runs in both his U15 and U17 years in 2023.
Tsunehara was named to the TopDrawerSoccer preseason All-Freshman team on August 20. The Burlingame, Calif., native was the 2022 MLS Next U16 National MVP. He was also a leading scorer for the San Jose Earthquakes U17 team as they reached the semifinals of the MLS Next cup in 2023.
Freshman goalkeeper Salerno comes to Princeton after playing with the Columbus Crew II and helping secure key victories in the MLS Next Pro playoffs.

About Coach Barlow

Head coach Jim Barlow is in his 28th season as the men's soccer head coach and has accumulated 222 career wins with the Tigers, the most for any soccer coach in Princeton history, men's or women's. Barlow was also named the 2021 Ivy League Coach of the Year.

About the Zips

Akron enters the NCAA Tournament with an RPI ranking of 34 after going 11-4-4 on the season and 7-0-1 in the BIG EAST.
This will be Akron's 36th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.
Emil Jaaskelainen is ranked no. 1 nationally in scoring with 23 goals and seven assists across 19 games this season, leading the Zips offense.
Mitch Budler has taken all 19 games in goal for Akron, registering 48 saves and 8 shutouts for a 1.00 GAA.
Thursday will be the fourth meeting all-time between Princeton and Akron, with the Zips holding the 2-1 advantage after capturing a 1-0 win in Princeton in the most recent matchup, which was in September 2005.
This will be the first time the two sides meet in the NCAA tournament.