#16 Tigers Set For Midweek Clash At Rutgers - Princeton University Athletics

#16 Princeton (4-0-1) vs. Rutgers (2-3-1)
September 15 (Tues.) | 7 p.m. | Piscataway, N.J.
Live Stats | B1G+

PRINCETON, N.J. – Looking to continue its unbeaten streak, the #16 Princeton men's soccer team will head to Piscataway to face in-state rival Rutgers on Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Yurcak Field.

Last Time Out
Princeton is coming off a second-straight road win at Albany on Saturday, where the Tigers blanked the Great Danes 1-0.

Tyler Vilet scored the game-winner on a stunning header that also marked his first career goal.

Andrew Samuels was in net for his fourth-consecutive shutout, making six saves including one on a Great Dane penalty kick.

For his efforts, Samuels was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Brick Wall Between The Posts
With a save percentage of 0.944 and a GAA of 0.20, Samuels ranks second in the nation in shutouts, fourth in save percentage and fifth in GAA.

He has led Princeton to a team national ranking of second in GAA, second in save percentage and third in shutout percentage.

His Ivy weekly honor this week marked his second-consecutive.

Stat Leaders
Hormozi, the national leader in total shots, leads the Tigers with nine points on the season. He also leads the Ivy League in shots on target and is second in goals scored.

With three assists apiece, Hormozi and Roka Tsunehara are tied for fourth in the league.

Picking Up Where They Left Off
The Tigers were picked to finish first in the Ivy League Preseason Poll with 14 first-place votes.

The favorite pick comes 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 ranked 16th in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll.

Keep An Eye Out
Samuels, 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 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 Hormozi, Second Team All-Ivy honorees 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, 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 238 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.

He is the ninth longest tenured active head coach in NCAA D1 men's soccer, the longest tenured AHC in Ivy League men's soccer, and the fifth-longest in the Ivy League across all sports.

Scouting the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers is coming off a big home win over #11 UCLA on Friday night, in which the Scarlet Knights downed the Bruins 3-1 in their B1G opener.

Rutgers' other win this season was a 4-1 home victory over Sacred Heart. With a strong schedule, the Scarlet Knights have dropped close contests to #5 Georgetown and #21 UC Santa Barbara so far.

Andrew Kitch and Nick Collins each boast two goals apiece to lead the squad. Amer Lukovic leads in assists with three.

Rafael Ponce de Leon has started all six of the Scarlet Knights' games so far, allowing six goals for a GAA of 1.00 and a save percentage of 0.739.

Princeton is 29-23-10 all-time against Rutgers, with the series dating back to 1951. On the road, Princeton is 10-14-5 against the Scarlet Knights.

The last matchup was a 3-1 Tiger victory at home in Roberts Stadium as Princeton opened the 2025 season.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Viktor Alestig

Liam Beckwith

Lucas Ferreira

Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch

Daniel Ittycheria

Jack Jasinski

Julien Lacher

Chase Miller

Jonah Mwilambwe

Dash Papez

Andrew Samuels

Roka Tsunehara

Sam Vigilante

Tyler Vilet