Seton Hall men’s soccer pulled off a Herculean comeback, coming back from three goals down to win in overtime, 4-3, on the road Thursday against the Princeton Tigers.
The Pirates went into their game against the Tigers with the odds stacked against them, with Seton Hall having not won a match at Princeton since 2000.
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Photo via SHU Athletics[/caption]
The Pirates and Tigers got off to good starts with both sides showing compactness early that would seldom last.
Later on in the first half, the Princeton offense created pressure against Seton Hall, making them play a defense-oriented game in which they did not see the offensive end of the field often. Around the 10-minute mark of the first half, the Pirates’ defense began to look flat, giving the Tigers more opportunities to attack.
In the 32nd minute, a foul against Princeton gave Seton Hall its first real chance of the game, a free kick from 30 yards out. The kick was taken by Andres Arcila but went wide. Princeton’s defense continued to get the best of Seton Hall for the rest of the half.
Princeton struck first at the end of the half after three tremendous saves by Pirates' goalie Elliot Munford were not enough to keep the Tigers out.
The first half ended with Princeton leading 1-0 and Seton Hall having zero shots on goal.
The second half began similar to how the first had ended, with the Pirates playing slower than their opponents, and Princeton taking advantage, scoring their second goal of the game in the 46th minute. Four minutes later, Princeton tallied another goal, giving it what seemed like an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
After the third goal, the Pirates' defense, led by Munford between the sticks, made key stops to give the Pirates hope of mounting a comeback.
Seton Hall was finally able to break through Princeton’s defense in the 58th minute, with a goal by Marco Neves, cutting Princeton’s lead to 3-1. Juan Camilo Abella and Arcila picked up assists on Neves’ goal.
Capitalizing on the momentum, Arcila added another Seton Hall goal. The goal was Arcila’s second goal of the year and put the Pirates back in the game, only down by one.
With a mere two seconds left in regulation, Spencer Burkhardt scored the goal to tie the game and send a resilient Pirates side to extra time.
Arcila scored his second of the game in the 104th minute off a free kick to complete the monumental comeback for Seton Hall.
The Pirates will be back in action Sunday night at the University of Pennsylvania.
Brittany Tomore can be reached at brittany.tomore@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @BrittTomore.
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