November 5, 2003: Sports
Long
touchdown spurs first win
Record-tying pass revives offense
Soccer
lives up to expectations
Team’s youth no disadvantage
Sports Web Exclusives! P-nut Gallery column
Long
touchdown spurs first win
Record-tying pass revives
offense
By Phillip Thune ’92
PHOTO: Justin Stull ’06, shown here at the Colgate game, had a career-high 15 tackles against Brown. (Beverly Schaefer)
On October 18, on a sunny day in Providence, Brown had the ball 14 minutes more than Princeton, and ran almost 40 more offensive plays. The Tigers committed 10 penalties, costing them more than 100 yards. Quarterback Matt Verbit ’05 was the team’s second-leading receiver, catching two passes from his own tipped throws.
Sounds familiar, like a team off to the worst start in school history; a team that lost to Colgate at home, 30—3, the week before, being held to just a field goal for only the second time in coach Roger Hughes’ four-year tenure; a team that gives up big plays on defense and coughs up the ball on offense at the most inopportune times.
But the outcome of a football game is not always about statistics, or long stretches of ineffectiveness. One big play can change a game, and can overcome the most lopsided deficiencies in yardage and time of possession.
On October 18, on a sunny day in Providence, Princeton made that one play. After nearly 45 minutes of ineptitude on offense, Princeton was pinned on its own one-yard line. Verbit fired to wideout Clinton Wu ’05 as he cut across the middle on a slant route. Wu, making just his third career reception, caught the ball at the 10-yard line, broke between two defenders toward the sideline, and raced into the record books.
When the 99-yard pass was over, Verbit and Wu had tied an N.C.A.A. record for the longest play from scrimmage, and more important, had given Princeton a 13—7 advantage over Brown, waking up the Tiger offense from a deep slumber. Brown came back immediately to retake the lead, 14—13, but Princeton notched touchdowns on three of its next four possessions to run away with its first victory of the season, 34—14.
Wu’s reception reversed the game’s momentum. “Brown really felt at that point that they were ready, in [Bruins coach] Phil Estes’s words, to put a dagger in our hearts,” says Hughes. “As much as it had a lifting effect on our sideline, I think it had just the opposite effect on theirs.”
Having already lost to Columbia (2—3) on a last-second Hail Mary pass, the Tigers’ big play against Brown (1—4) will not propel them to the Ivy title, especially with Harvard (5—0), Penn (5—0), and Yale (4—1) still to come.
However, it offers some hope that the promising 6—4 record of last year was not an aberration. Princeton’s troubles during the first half of the season were the result of being overmatched and inexperienced.
But the Tigers’ young players redeemed themselves against Brown,
especially linebacker Justin Stull ’06 (career-high 15 tackles),
and tailback Brandon Benson ’05 (career-high 128 yards). With five
games remaining, Hughes can focus on developing his emerging talent, and
trying to extend the glow of that one big play. 
Phillip Thune ’92 is COO/CFO of Internet marketing company FindWhat.com in Ft. Myers, Florida.
Soccer
lives up to expectations
Team’s youth no disadvantage
PHOTO: Esmerelda Negron ’05 (Beverly Schaefer)
There’s no predicting what may happen on the playing field. By mid-October, football, a team many expected to build on last year’s winning season, had won only one game. On the other hand, men’s water polo, which graduated two superstar seniors, had 17 wins and only three losses.
Women’s soccer, however, has just done exactly what was hoped: build on one of the most successful campaigns in the program’s history. The Tigers ended last year with a record of 14—3—2, their first 14-win season since 1980.
This year, the Tigers were 8—1—2 through their first 11 games, and appeared to have a shot at matching last year’s win total. And the team’s best performance of the year to date doesn’t even appear in the win column – it came in a draw. On September 21, the Tigers played the University of California—Berkeley, then the 10th-ranked team in the nation, to a 1—1 tie.
The 2003 squad includes just two seniors, but the team finds stars in its youth, particularly midfielder Emily Behncke ’06 and forward Esmeralda Negron ’05.
Behncke — whose older brother, Matt ’02, played four years for the Tigers and currently holds a roster spot for Dallas’s Major League Soccer franchise — doesn’t let the family down. After a strong freshman campaign, the Virginia native was recognized as Princeton’s Athlete of the Week after a two-goal performance September 19 against Sacramento State – a game the Tigers won 3—1. Says Coach Julie Shackford, “Emily has the ability to open up a game but plays in the midfield. She scores some key goals and is still learning a very difficult position.” Behncke places her confidence in the squad as a whole. “I believe we can beat any team on our schedule,” she says.
Other squads are beginning to get wind of Behncke’s ability, though, and she no longer is able to surprise teams as she did as an unheralded freshman. Opponents, Shackford admits, “have keyed in on her and she is going to have to figure out different ways to make an impact. We are looking to have her work on being more of a playmaker on the ball and more of an active defender.”
Negron didn’t waste any time assuming the mantle of “go-to girl,” scoring a goal in each of the Tigers’ first seven games. “Esmeralda,” says Shackford, “has the ability to break open a game with her speed and ability to take on defenders.” By mid-October she had nine goals for the season, already one better than her total from last year. She was leading the Tigers – and the Ivy League – with a total of 20 points.
There may be a few things that can slow this one-two punch – starting
with Dartmouth. The Big Green handed Princeton its lone loss of the season,
October 5, on a last-minute header. Behncke says, “All we can do
now is beat the rest of the teams in the Ivy League and hope that someone
else knocks off Dartmouth.”
By Nate Sellyn ’04
sports SHORTS
Competing in the World Fencing Championships, October 4 to 11 in Havana, Soren Thompson ’04 defied expectations, reaching the top eight in the tournament. Ranked 97th in the world entering the competition, Thompson became the first U.S. fencer in recent history to reach the top eight of the men’s épée. Competing against professionals who train full-time, Thompson scored a number of upset victories before losing by a point, 15—14, in the quarterfinal round.
In MEN’S WATER POLO, Princeton continued its successful campaign in California over the October 11 weekend, improving to 14—2 this season. The Tigers went 3—1, defeating the University of California—Davis, Air Force, and 16th-ranked Pacific. Their lone loss came to the nation’s top-ranked team, California, when a four-goal first-half deficit proved too much to overcome.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL enjoyed a successful midseason run, winning five of its last six matches. The Tigers dominated Yale in a 3—1 victory October 11, and stand at 9—5 for the season, with a 2—1 Ivy record. Kellie Cramm ’04 leads the squad, with significant contributions from Alex Brown ’05 and Lauren Grumet ’06. The team is now entering the Ivy part of its schedule, and its remaining 11 matches come against opponents within the conference. The Tigers lost to defending league champion Penn October 3.
As of mid-October, FIELD HOCKEY was undefeated in the Ivy League at 4—0, and had a 7—3 record overall. Midfielder Claire Miller ’04 (six goals and 14 points) remains the cornerstone of the Tiger offense, and attacker Lizzie Black ’05 (five goals and 13 points) is close behind. The team faces three more Ivy opponents before the N.C.A.A. tournament begins in mid-November.
WOMEN’S GOLF’s unbeaten streak this year came to an end in the Nittany Lion Women’s Invitational at Penn State. The team finished fifth overall in the tournament, and top Tiger Meg Nakamura ’05 tied for ninth individually at 11 over par. Nakamura, Avery Kiser ’05, and Sharla Cloutier ’07 took turns atop the individual standings in Princeton’s first three tournaments, all first-place finishes.
Former men’s basketball captain Nate Walton ’01 recently learned
it’s tough to beat a killing machine from the future. Walton managed
only 1,508 votes in California’s recall election October 7, finishing
43rd among 145 candidates.
