Dartmouth and Princeton Play to a 2-2 Draw

Saturday, October 1

Princeton, N.J.

4:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Princeton

10/1/2016 6:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – For the fifth time this season, the Dartmouth men's soccer team had to settle for a draw in double overtime. This time the Big Green tied Princeton, 2-2, in New Jersey on Saturday evening.

With the tie, Dartmouth is now 1-2-5, 0-0-1 in the Ivy League, while the Tigers drop to 4-3-1, 0-0-1 in conference play.

The Big Green were looking to make a statement in its Ancient Eight opener after a hard fought non-conference slate. After taking a 2-0 lead in the second half, Princeton battled back to even the score late in the second stanza.

“Firstly credit to Princeton, they really fought and battled to come back into the game and get the tie,” said Dartmouth head coach Chad Riley. “I thought for large stretches it was some of the best soccer we have played all year, but we fell asleep at a couple of moments defensively and Princeton was able to capitalize. We scored a couple of excellent goals and created some other very quality chances.”

Just seven minutes into the contest Noah Paravicini got the Big Green on the scoreboard with his second tally of the season. Justin Donawa crossed into the box in perfect spot for Paravicini to head in the first score of the game.

Dartmouth continued to keep pressure on Princeton's defense with five shots in the opening 12 minutes. Later in the first half, Paravacini nearly scored his second goal of the game, but his shot missed the crossbar by inches.

With 10 minutes to play in the first stanza, the Tigers' Daniel Bowkett picked up his first yellow card after a hard slide tackle. Less than a minute later, Bowkett picked up a second yellow card for a similar play which resulted in a red card, ejecting him from the contest. Princeton would have to play down a man for the remainder of the game. The Big Green lined up for the free kick after the red card, as Matt Danilack nearly scored on a shot that went wide.

After halftime the teams returned to the field for the thrilling second half. In the 52nd minute, Tyler Dowse netted his first collegiate goal to put Dartmouth ahead, 2-0. Dowse worked around the defense and finished on a shot from about 15 yards out for the important second tally.

Two minutes later, the Tigers responded when Sean McSheary knocked in a lose ball that bounced around in front of Big Green goalkeeper, James Hickok.

Princeton, with momentum on its side got the equalizer in the 59th minute off a header from Brian Costa, tying the contest at two goals a piece.

Dartmouth continued to get scoring opportunities in regulation in the Tigers' end of the field, holding a 24-16 in advantage in shots. After neither team scored in the remaining minutes of the second half, the contest went to its first overtime.

In the 97th minute, the Big Green were awarded a great opportunity when a yellow card was given to Princeton, but Dartmouth could not capitalize.

Both squads took the 2-2 tie into a second 10-minute overtime period to decide a winner where Matt Greer and Donawa each had shots on goal that were saved. The Big Green forced the Tigers' keeper to make nine saves, while Hickok made five stops on the other side of the field for Dartmouth.

The Big Green and Princeton had its chances in the final minutes of the match, but after neither team found the back of the net, the game ended in a draw.

“Overall even though the result was a tie, I was proud of the effort our squad put in, from the guys on the field through the whole bench everyone was pushing and looking for the solution,” Riley said. “We have to continue to grow and continue to be focused on getting better each day.”

Dartmouth returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts New Hampshire at Burnham Field at 7 p.m.

Notes:
The last time the Big Green had five draws in a season was 2005. The most ties in a season for Dartmouth was seven back in 2004.