The Dartmouth men's soccer squad (2-1-4 overall, 0-0-1 Ivy) battled the Princeton Tigers (4-2-2 overall, 0-0-1 Ivy) to a scoreless draw, in a contact-filled, defense-dominated double overtime thriller at Lourie-Love Field in New Jersey Saturday.
After a season-opening loss to Cal State-Northridge, the Big Green has now extended its undefeated streak to six games.
Saturday's game was marked by a rash of fouls -- Dartmouth registered 21 to Princeton's 25 -- and physical play in the game's most pivotal moments, most notably a 70th-minute tangle-up involving Princeton junior midfielder Ben Young and Dartmouth defender Oliver Harker-Smith '05.
As Young surged toward the Dartmouth penalty box on a through ball, he was tripped by Smith, which resulted in a Big Green yellow card.
Controversy arose when the referee determined the spot of the foul to be outside of the box. This judgment was significant because it meant that the foul resulted in a free kick, rather than a penalty kick opportunity.
On the following play, the Big Green thwarted the Tigers' attempt to convert its free kick attempt into a scoring opportunity in a stand emblematic of the Dartmouth team's stifling defensive play.
The Dartmouth defense limited the Princeton Tigers to just two shots on net, and four shots overall on the day for goalkeeper Rowan Anders '07's second shutout of the season. Princeton didn't register its first shot on goal until the 57th minute of play.
For his effort toward declawing the Tiger attack, Thomas Lobben '08 was honored as the Ivy League men's rookie of the week.
"Its just a great honor because I didn't think I was going to be playing much this season," Lobben said. "I'm glad I could work my way into the rotation and contribute."
After cracking the starting line-up against Bradley, Lobben has started every game since then and has helped the defense rack up some gaudy defense numbers.
At present, the Dartmouth defense rank first in the Ivy League in goals allowed and goals allowed per game (0.86).
The Dartmouth offense, however, struggled to feed off of the defense's play during the game, as it registered just three shots on goal against the Tiger squad. That said, Dartmouth's attack was far from toothless, as it created a number of quality scoring attempts Saturday.
Dartmouth had two quality chances to get on the scoreboard in regulation play.
Near the end of the first half Harker-Smith directed a corner kick right in front of the Princeton net and lifted it over the head of goalie Erik White and over the crossbar.
Early in the second half of play, forward Sam Porter '05 crossed the ball into a dangerous position in front of the Princeton net, but senior goalkeeper Erik White was able to slide out and intercept the pass.
In overtime, the Dartmouth offense dictated play and pressured to break the stalemate, but again came up short.
"It was tough to see that we weren't converting [the chances] into goals," midfielder Mike Ordonez '08 said. "We were the better, fitter team."
Porter again had a chance in the second overtime, stretching out to take a shot off a crossing pass, but White maneuvered to his right to make the save.
The Big Green had one last chance to score with under one minute left in the second overtime.
Ordonez sent a pass across the front of the net that passed the Princeton goaltender, but the Tigers were able to clear before the Big Green could capitalize.
"We would have loved to win, but we didn't have our heads down after the game," Ordonez said.
The Big Green looks to extend its unbeaten streak when it takes on the Yale Bulldogs in a Sunday afternoon showdown in Hanover.
