Tigers' M. Soccer goes to Final Four

On October 29, the Columbia men's soccer team waltzed onto Lourie-Love Field and in one fell swoop apparently spoiled what had been a dream ride of a season for the Princeton Tigers. Columbia's 3-1 win over favored Princeton meant that the Lions and Tigers would tie for the Ivy League championship with 6-1 records. But the head-to-head tiebreaker went to Columbia, and hence it was the Lions who received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Columbia would be going to the Big Dance, and it looked like Princeton might not be going anywhere. What a difference a month makes. On November 28, twenty-nine days after the Columbia defeat, the Tigers (13-4) advanced to the tournament's Final Four, the first time in their history they have made it that far and the first time for any Ivy team since 1987. Princeton's journey encompassed three wins and included victories over the Lions and Hartwick, teams that had been responsible for two of the Tigers' four defeats during the regular season. The highlight to this point – perhaps the biggest win in team history – was a stunning second-round 5-2 upset of Penn State, which had been seeded fourth in the 24-team field. But none of it would have been possible without a little help from the NCAA, which looked at Princeton's impressive record and schedule and decided that the Tigers were worthy of an at-large bid. Furthermore, it gave Princeton just what it wanted by placing the Tigers in the draw right next to Columbia, setting up a rematch between the Ivy co-champions on November 14. Princeton was intent on not letting this golden opportunity for revenge slip past, and it didn't. In the first meeting of the teams, Rikki Dadason, the Lions' Ivy League Player of the Year, had gone ballistic, scoring all three of Columbia's goals to give his team the victory. The second time around, however, Princeton's defense smothered Dadason and prevented him from getting anything going. No other Lion was able to pick up the slack, and Ivy League Rookie of the Year Princeton midfielder Andre Parris notched his fifth goal of the year in addition to a pretty assist to send the Tigers into the second round. "[Dadason] is easily one of the top three or four players in the country right now," defenseman Drew Mickel said. "We were keying on him and we knew if we could get the ball to our halfbacks, they could do something." But even after ridding itself of that regular season scourge, Princeton had absolutely no time to rest. Powerhouse Penn State was coming to town, and the Nittany Lions' awesome record made it clear that they were not the tournament's fourth seed for nothing. Against a team of that caliber, it was imperative for that the Tigers take advantage of every opportunity. So the fact that they trailed 2-1 early in the second half despite out-shooting Penn State 6-4 may have been cause for some concern. If there was any anxiety, however, it was short-lived, as Princeton exploded for four goals in the final 25 minutes while the shocked Nittany Lions could seemingly do no more than stand by and watch. Parris came through again with a goal and three assists, giving him a Princeton-record 10 assists for the year. After thumping mighty Penn State, the Tigers must have felt extremely confident about hosting Hartwick last Sunday in a quarterfinal showdown. Not only were they on the verge of a Final Fourth berth, but the game was another opportunity to avenge a regular season setback. The Warriors had upended Princeton 2-1 in the Tigers' home opener, but just as it did against Columbia and Dadason, Princeton remembered its mistakes and learned from them. That wasn't all that evident during the first two-thirds of the game, however, as the teams battled to a 0-0 standstill. "It was what I thought a playoff game should be," Princeton Coach Bob Bradley said. "A hard-fought 0-0 game where one play either way can make a difference." That one play came with 16 minutes remaining when a Hartwick player blasted senior captain Joe Thieman in the head with a forearm and was given a yellow card. While Hartwick seemed stunned by this blatant incident of unnecessary roughness, the Tigers rebounded with newfound energy and vigor. With three goals in the final 15 minutes, including two by leading scorer Jacob Dowden, Princeton blew by the Warriors and right into the promised land – Davidson, North Carolina and the Final Four. Awaiting the Tigers tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Davidson, however, is one of the very best teams in the nation. Ranked third in the nation, Virginia is the two-time defending national champion and features perhaps the best player in the country in Claudio Reyna. Coming up short against one of the nation's elite in the Final Four would do nothing at all to dampen Princeton's remarkable season, particularly considering that it wasn't even sure it would get a tournament bid. But the Tigers are not thinking about coming up short. "It's great to go to the Final Four, but we still have two games left," midfielder Thad McBride said. "Now that we're there, we have a great chance of winning the national championship." The Daily Princetonian contributed to this story.