ROARING TIGER: Princeton University men’s soccer player Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch, left, celebrates after scoring a goal in Princeton’s 3-1 win over Harvard last Thursday in the semifinal of the Ivy League tournament. Whitchurch and the Tigers went on to top Cornell 2-0 in the Ivy final on Sunday. Princeton, now 15-1-2, will be playing in the NCAA tournament where it is seeded third and will host a second round game on November 23 between the victor of the Duke-FDU first round matchup. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
After producing seven shutouts as it went 7-0 in Ivy League play this fall, the Princeton University men’s soccer team yielded a goal to visiting Harvard five minutes into the Ivy tournament semis last Thursday night.
While the tally was a bit of a shock, the Tigers were unfazed.
“I don’t think it knocked our confidence too much; early this year we were in situations where we concede a goal and have to chase the win,” said Princeton senior defender Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch. “I think our response is a testament to that. We just kept on going and doing our thing. It didn’t hit our confidence.”
Whitchurch broke the ice for the Tigers as he scored on a corner kick with 1:06 left in the first half.
“I was confident with all of those corners, we had great service from Jack [Jasinski] all year,” said Whitchuch, reflecting on his first goal of the season. “We haven’t scored many from corners so it was about time that we got a couple in there. I just run to the back post and hope the ball comes to me. Jack really played it right to my foot. My first touch wasn’t great, I got a little bit lucky that it stayed out where it did and I just had to tap it in. It was great ball and I got to the spot here I needed to be in to just put it in.”
In the second half, Princeton got goals from Dash Papez on a corner and from Danny Ittycheria on a penalty kick as they went on to win 3-1 to earn a spot in the Ivy final against Cornell.
“We definitely pressed forward a lot, there was a lot more defending too as well,” said Whitchurch. “We are a pretty flexible team in the sense that we can go at teams in their half and if we need to absorb some pressure, we are comfortable doing that too.”
The Tigers kept going forward on Sunday as they topped Cornell 2-0 in the final to earn a title double and the league’s automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament.
On Monday, the Tigers, now 15-1-2, received their NCAA assignment where they are seeded third and will host a second round game on November 23 between the victor of the Duke-FDU first round matchup.
In reflecting on Princeton’s stellar campaign, Whitchurch pointed to the team’s daily intensity as a key factor.
“I think it has been since day one, every training session, every moment together, we have made the most of it,” said Whitchurch, a 6’3, 190-pound native of San Diego, Calif., and two-time All-Ivy selection. “Literally every single game, no matter the opponent, no matter the day, we treat it like a final. We treat it like a game that is going to define our season.”
The team’s senior group has helped instill that mentality as it has weathered some ups and downs over the last four years.
“There is 11 of us and we have been here for four years and it hasn’t been all sweet,” said Whitchurch. “The first two, I think we had a combined 10 wins. I think that adversity got us to where we are right now. Without learning what it takes to win a college soccer game the hard way, we wouldn’t have the resilience and the confidence that we have right now.”
Whitchurch was hit with some adversity this fall as he suffered a shoulder injury against Columbia on October 18 that sidelined him for three weeks.
“It was definitely tough having to sit out those games; I dealt with injuries my first two years and learned a lesson the hard way that it is not worth rushing back,” said Whitchurch. “It is better to take your time and make sure you have recovered 100 percent. I obviously wanted to get back there to play. The team was winning and doing great. The guys that stepped in were doing great. I am super thankful to have come back and play and get right back into things like it was before. I am very grateful that I still have more games to play.”
Princeton head coach Jim Barlow liked the toughness his team showed in overcoming the early deficit against Harvard.
“I thought our guys responded to it really well, even before we gave up the goal, I thought we were off to a good start,” said Barlow. “We hadn’t scored on a corner kick in a while. It was something we talked about this week that we hadn’t been getting as dangerous as we had been earlier in the year. So it was really good to get two on corners. Our two center backs who are two of our targets and both got goals. It was great to see those two guys score, they are such important parts of our defense. On a day when the offense was struggling to get a goal, they put it on their shoulders to do that too.”
Barlow was not surprised to see his players come through against the Crimson. “It is a confident group, nothing seems to rattle them,” said Barlow. “They really enjoy the challenges. It is an experienced group that has a lot of confidence.”
In the win over Cornell, the Tigers gamed a boost of confidence as they got an early goal from Sam Vigilante.
“Getting the first goal against them is just so important,” said Barlow. “Sam’s goal was huge. When we beat them up at Cornell (2-0 on October 11), we got a very early goal. I do think our team is so confident right now in how we defend. Giving us an early goal takes a little bit of the pressure off and lets us settle and do what we do well which is defend.”
The Big Red, though, battled back and had a chance to tie the game when they got a penalty kick in the waning moments of the first half but Tiger goalkeeper Andrew Samuels turned it away.
“To Cornell’s credit even with us doing that, they started getting it going,” said Barlow. “The penalty was a great save by Andrew. It is the third penalty he has saved. My associate head coach Steve Totten said it is incredible that on a penalty you almost feel like it is only a 50/50 chance that they are going to score.”
With Cornell pressing forward after halftime, Princeton got a goal from Liam Beckwith to seal the deal.
“The second half was reaching a point where it was getting a little scary because they had gotten a couple of near misses,” said Barlow. “Danny [Ittycheria] had hit the bar and we had a couple of other good chances. You just felt like we really, really needed to get that second goal. They put a really good play together, Liam finished it great too.”
Achieving the title double was special for the Tigers. “It is awesome, the guys know that we have a really good league,” said Barlow, whose team won the Ivy tournament in 2024. “I think our league was ranked third this year of all the conferences in the country. To go through our league without a loss is just incredibly difficult.”
In order to come through like that, Princeton has displayed a laser-like approach to their business.
“I give our guys a ton of credit, they just don’t get too distracted,” said Barlow. “They stay focused. They get ready for every game the same way. They are confident that no matter what happens even if we are getting outplayed like we were for good stretches of the Cornell game that they can get through those stretches and still find ways to score when we get our chances.”
The squad’s senior group has played a key role in establishing that mindset.
“They are all good players, even the ones who have not been getting a lot of time,” said Barlow. “They are all good leaders. That group has definitely set the tone for what the culture is going to be like. Their experience and their maturity has been huge for this group.”
Looking forward to the NCAA tournament, Barlow is confident that the Tigers will take a mature approach as they look to make a deep run.
“It is awesome to be considered one of the top four teams in the country going into the tournament,” said Barlow. “But having said that, the guys know that every team in the tournament is capable of winning and we know we are. It is a tough group we are in with Duke, Akron, Michigan, Notre Dame or FDU. No matter what group you get placed in, you are going to feel like it is a really hard group.”
Having lost 1-0 at Akron in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, Princeton is happy to be hosting its second round contest.
“It absolutely helps being at home,” said Barlow. “In particular for the Harvard game, we had a chance of playing that game at 3:30 or at 7. We decided to play the late game because we thought we could really benefit from an energetic crowd. We give up a goal five minutes into the game and I think once the crowd started getting into it that really helped us. The crowd on Sunday for an 11 a.m. game was so into it. It was loud, it was rowdy. It was a really fun environment.”
In preparing for the game this Sunday, Princeton is going to stick with the approach it has employed all season.
“I don’t feel that our team thinks about anything other than what is right in front of them,” said Barlow. “All we are thinking about is trying to win on Sunday. We won’t know if that is Duke or FDU until Thursday night but whoever it is we will prepare as best we can and the guys will just go for it. I don’t think this group feels pressure. They just have so much fun playing together, they just want to keep it going.”
In Barlow’s view, the team has what it takes to go far in the tourney.
“It takes lot of things to go your way in the NCAA tournament — one call, one crossbar, one save on a penalty kick, one make on a penalty kick,” said Barlow. “It takes some breaks but I think our guys have a really solid foundation that we will be able to compete against anybody.”
Whitchurch, for his part, believes that the Tigers will be tough to beat no matter who they play.
“On any given day, any team can win,” said Whitchurch. “We have had that mentality, why not us. Usually people look at the top and see ACC, Big 10 schools and those big names. Obviously they are great programs. We feel like we have the quality to compete with those teams as well.”