St. John’s sent the red-hot Princeton Tigers packing Thursday night in a physical 1-0 victory in the opening round of the NCAA College Cup backed by Luka Gavran’s ten saves.
Princeton, who entered the match on an eight-game win streak, lost to the Johnnies earlier this year. Despite the victory, the Tigers had a great showing and only got better in Ivy League play. “Seeing Princeton again was a little bit worrisome,” coach David Masur said in a postgame media conference. “They kind of got the better of us down there [in Princeton.]”
The game was physical and chippy from the start, as the senior midfielder Einar Lye was sportsslammed by Princeton’s Issa Mundashiru in just the ninth minute of the match.