BROWN OUT: Princeton University men’s soccer player Bryan Windsor goes after the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, senior midfielder Windsor and Princeton fell 1-0 to Brown, despite outshooting the Bears 21-10. The Tigers, who moved to 5-4-1 overall and 0-1-1 Ivy League with the defeat, play at Columbia on October 15 and at Georgetown on October 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

As it started the October portion of its schedule, the Princeton University men’s soccer team displayed a flair for overcoming deficits.

In its Ivy League opener on October 1, Princeton fell behind Dartmouth 2-0 and battled back to pull out a 2-2 tie.

In a non-conference game at Seton Hall four days later, the Tigers spotted the Pirates an early goal but then roared back for a 3-1 victory.

Last Saturday, Princeton found itself in a 1-0 hole early in the second half against visiting Brown and put the pressure on the Bears.

The Tigers outshot the Bears 13-6 in the half, generating a number of superb chances, including a Greg Seifert blast that rattled off the crossbar and a bicycle kick by the senior that barely missed.

But in the end, Princeton couldn’t find the back of the net, falling 1-0 to the Bears to 5-4-1 overall and 0-1-1 Ivy.

Princeton head coach Jim Barlow believed his team was going to produce another comeback.

“We thought the goal was coming but their keeper made two great saves,” said Barlow.

“They are a tough team to break through, they work hard, they are athletic, they are organized in the back, and they chase. Give them credit for keeping us off the scoreboard because I thought we could have had several goals tonight.”

With the Tigers on their heels in the early going against Brown, Barlow inserted reserves Sean McSherry and Will Lentz into the contest to give his team a spark.

“The last few games the guys who have come off the bench have given us a lift and have helped us get a hold of things,” noted Barlow.

“We did have a little bit of a rough start today. I thought we weathered it and towards the end of the first half we felt pretty good about things.”

Princeton came out buzzing in the second half, as McSherry and Lentz pushed forward to generate scoring opportunities but it was Brown that found the back of the net with a goal at the 52:05 mark.

“In the beginning of the second half we felt really good about things and then one counter did us in.” lamented Barlow. “We didn’t handle that play well in several areas.”

Barlow credited Seifert and McSherry with playing well in defeat. “Greg has been dangerous lately and he was tonight,” said Barlow of the senior who had two goals and an assist in the win over Seton Hall on October 5.

“McSherry adds pace but it just didn’t add up on the last part of the play tonight. He got end lined a few times, he got isolated a few times, and he just couldn’t get the shot off and he couldn’t get the last pass in at times. I thought it was solid effort from him tonight.”

Other than the lapse on the Brown goal, Barlow felt that the Princeton defensive effort was solid.

“It is just one of those games where we limited them to just a couple of chances,” said Barlow, whose team outshot Brown 21-10 on the evening.

“They had a few shots in the beginning of the game. In the second half, even with us pushing and sending numbers forward and everything, I thought we were pretty organized in the back and didn’t concede much. We just couldn’t get that one goal. I think if we had gotten that one goal, we could have gotten several.”

With four teams (Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Harvard) currently tied atop the Ivy standings with 1-0-1 league marks, Princeton still has a very good chance to contend for the crown.

“It is still wide open, it is hard to think that if you go 5-1-1 that you wouldn’t have a really good chance to win the league,” said Barlow, whose squad plays at Columbia on October 15 and at Georgetown on October 18.

“We just have to get on a roll now. We were in this position last year and the response wasn’t good; we lost to Columbia and to Cornell. This year we have to make it a big priority to bounce back and take care of business in the next few games. I thought we played pretty well tonight.”