Tigers Set To Open 2026 Season With Visits from Villanova and No. 3 Portland

Friday, August 28

Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium

7:00 PM

Princeton University

Villanova

Photo by: Joshua Gao

Tigers Set To Open 2026 Season With Visits from Villanova and No. 3 Portland

August 26, 2026 | Men's Soccer

Princeton (0-0) vs. Villanova (2-0)
August 28 (Fri.) | 7 p.m. | Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium
Live Stats | ESPN+

Princeton (0-0) vs. #3 Portland (0-0-1)
August 31 (Mon.) | 7 p.m. | Myslik Field at Roberts Stadium
Live Stats | ESPN+

PRINCETON, N.J. – The defending Ivy League Champion Princeton men's soccer team will kick off the 2026 season at home this weekend as it hosts Villanova and No. 3 Portland for two non-conference matchups in Roberts Stadium.

The Tigers will face the Wildcats in the season opener on Friday before taking on the Pilots on Monday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. EST.

Picking Up Where They Left Off
The Tigers are set to begin 2026 after a historically successful 2025 season that saw them claim both the Ivy League regular season and Ivy League tournament championship titles. Princeton went 7-0-0 in league play while conceding zero goals, posting an overall record of 15-2-2.

The Tigers were seeded third in the NCAA Tournament, marking the highest seed ever for an Ivy League team. They also led the nation in RPI for a majority of last season.

Ahead of this season, Princeton was ranked eighth in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. Most recently, the Tigers were the first team out of the top-25 but receiving votes.

The Tigers were picked to finish first in the Ivy League Preseason Poll with 14 first-place votes.

Keep An Eye Out
Andrew Samuels (GK), 2025 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, returns for his senior season after leading the nation in goals-against, save-percentage and shutouts for most of last season. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches Goalkeepers to Watch List this preseason.

Junior defender Roka Tsunehara was also named to the United Soccer Coaches Defenders to Watch List.

Newcomer Julien Lacher was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Freshman Team. Samuels joined him in the TDS honors after being named the goalkeeper on the Best XI First Team.

All-Ivy Returners
The Tigers return several 2025 All-Ivy honorees in Samuels, First Team All-Ivy honoree and Ivy Defensive POTY, First Team All-Ivy honoree Bardia Hormozi, Second Team All-Ivy honorees Roka Tsunehara and Liam Beckwith, and All-Ivy Honorable Mention Dash Papez.

Samuels and Tsunehara were also United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Region honorees.

Called Up
An Ivy-record four Tigers were drafted at the conclusion of last season. Hormozi and Samuels were two of the four, with Samuels selected in the second round by St. Louis City SC and Hormozi selected in the second round by Minnesota United FC.

The Tigers graduated first-round pick Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch, who currently plays with LAFC II, and Jack Jasinski, who was drafted by and currently plays for the San Jose Earthquakes. Two other Tigers from last year's squad are also playing professionally in Sam Vigilante (MNUFC II) and Daniel Ittycheria (Vancouver Whitecaps II).

Captains
Samuels and Beckwith are at the helm of the 2026 squad.

About the Newcomers
Princeton welcomes six talented newcomers in the class of 2030 this season in Viktor Alestig, Lucas Ferreira, Noah Hammerschmidt, Lacher, Chase Miller and Jonah Mwilambwe.

About Coach Barlow
Head coach Jim Barlow is in his 30th season as the men's soccer head coach and has accumulated 237 career wins with the Tigers, the most for any soccer coach in Princeton history, men's or women's. Barlow was also named the 2025 Ivy League Coach of the Year and the 2025 Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova is 2-0 so far after downing Temple and Saint Peter's in two 1-0 matches to start the season.

The Wildcats' two first goals of the season went to Fynn Lahrsen, their leading scorer last season (4), and Luca Mazzola. Alex Yagudayev was in goal for both shutouts.

The last meeting between the two sides was last Fall in Philadelphia, where the Tigers downed the Wildcats 3-0.

Scouting #3 Portland
Portland is 0-0-1 on the season after battling to a scoreless draw against Cal to open the season.

Portland was ranked third in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll after reaching the NCAA quarterfinals at the end of last season.

Three Pilots were named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List this preseason in goalkeeper Miguel-Angel Hernandez, forward Joe Highfield and midfielder Diego Rosas.

This will be the first meeting between the two sides.