During a season in which things just did not go their way at times, the men’s soccer team will look to round out the year on a high note this Saturday.
Yale (7-7-2, 3-3-0 Ivy) welcomes Princeton (5-9-2, 2-2-2) to Reese Stadium at 4 p.m. for the Bulldogs’ Senior Day.
After a rough start to the 2008 Ivy campaign in which they lost three of their first four matchups, the Elis have bounced back with impressive wins over Columbia and Brown. If Yale wins or ties the Tigers, they could move past the Bears into fourth place in the Ivy League standings, depending on how Brown fares against a second-place Dartmouth squad.
Yale’s experienced back line has been stellar all season long, tag-teaming with goalkeeper Travis Chulick ’10 for seven shutouts all while giving up less than a goal per game on average.
But the Bulldogs’ youthful offense has emerged recently as a major asset to head coach Brian Tompkins’ squad. Forward Aden Farina-Henry ’11 had three goals in his last two games, while midfielder Andy Hackbarth ’12 has scored twice in the three most recent contests.
Yale has won its past five games against the Tigers.
Besides matching up well to the Bears in terms of playing style, captain and defender Alex Guzinski ’09 attributed the team’s recent 2-1 victory over Brown to the especially intense environment provided by the Bears’ Senior Day.
“Freshman year we played them on our senior day. Last year, [we played them] on their senior day and this year, [we’re playing them] on ours,” Guzinski said. “They’re pretty emotional games, so that helps motivate us.”
Guzinski also noted that besides potentially giving the team a winning record on the season, a win on Saturday would be especially memorable for the seniors. As their last game, he said, it is a game they will remember for the rest of their lives.