Oct. 16, 2004
Columbia men's soccer lost to Princeton, 1-0, at Baker Field. The Ivy League's leading scorer, Darren Spicer, netted with just over 16 minutes remaining to give the Tigers the victory. Though the Lions outplayed Princeton for most of the match, the loss drops their record to 2-8-2, 0-3-0 in the Ivy League.
In a tight defensive battle that saw few good scoring chances, the Lions had their best offensive move after 12 minutes in the first half. Einar Benediktsson (Kopavogur, Iceland) made a fine turn with the ball at his feet and charged down the right side. The junior sent a low hard cross to the far post where Jorrell Best hammered a first touch shot towards the net, but Princeton (6-3-3, 2-0-1) keeper Erik White made a spectacular sliding stop with his body.
In the 25th minute, it was Princeton's turn to be thwarted by a fine defensive play. Columbia keeper Dean Arnaoutakis (Dunedin, Fla.) made a diving stop of a Darren Spicer header. Princeton's Teddy Van Beuren and Ben Young played two touch on the right side of the penalty box to free Young for the cross. Spicer met it well, but Arnaoutakis was up to the challenge and preserved the tie.
The first half ended without a goal as both teams played a physical game that favored their strong defenses.
In the second frame Columbia held the majority of possession, but were unable to get the go ahead goal. Stephen Foster (Seaton Village, England) was influential as a substitute, firing off three shots on goal in the second half. Sekou Cox (Brooklyn, N.Y.) again proved himself one of the Ivy Leagues elite players with yet another outstanding performance.
The game remained a defensive struggle with the Lions looking more dangerous until the 74th minute when Adrian Melville took a ball down the wing and sent a low cross towards the penalty spot. Spicer chipped an onrushing Arnaoutakis with his first touch to score the game winner. Columbia threw men forward, but were could not unlock the Princeton defense as the game wound down.
The Lions look to pick up their first win next start against Dartmouth in the homecoming match.
