Bears Roar Past Tigers, 4-2, in Ivy League Win

Providence, RI- The No.19 Brown men’s soccer team (6-0-4, 2-0-0 Ivy) earned its second Ivy League victory tonight when it defeated Princeton University (4-5-1, 0-2-0), 4-2, on Stevenson Field. Sophomore forward Sean Rosa (Montreal, Quebec) scored two goals in tonight’s action, as senior Nick Elenz-Martin (Encinitas, CA) and sophomore Jay Hayward (Acton, MA) each tallied one.

Brown got off to a great start as Rosa lit up the scoreboard just 1:46 into the game. Rosa accepted a pass in the middle of the box from sophomore Mike Manella (Toluca Lake, CA) and knocked one into the right side of the net past Princeton goalkeeper Sean Lynch.

The Bears’ hard-nosed defense limited the Tigers to just three shots and held them scoreless in the first period, as Brown recorded eight shots and went into the locker room with a 1-0 advantage at the half.

Brown came out of the gates firing, as Rosa earned his second goal at the 50:19 mark. Goalkeeper Paul Grandstrand (Orono, MN) kicked the ball to senior forward T.J. Thompson (Atkinson, NH), who then sent the ball to Rosa, who blasted one in from 20 yards out. It was just 21 seconds later when Elenz-Martin increased Brown’s lead to 3-0 with a header into the high left corner after a pass from Thompson.

The Tigers weren’t going to go down without a fight, as the squad notched its first goal at the 56:07 mark. Matt Sanner headed one past Grandstrand’s left shoulder in the right corner of the goal to cut Princeton’s deficit to 3-1.

Hayward earned his first career goal in the 63rd minute, when he blasted in a free kick 35 yards out. Princeton’s Brandon Busch scored six minutes later on a penalty kick to put the score at 4-2, but Brown’s defense shut down all other chances to earn the victory.

Grandstrand (6-0-4) did an outstanding job in net for Bruno, picking up five saves as he helped the Bears remain undefeated. Princeton’s goalkeeper Sean Lynch earned one save tonight and moved to 4-5-1 on the year.

The Tigers out shot Brown 13-10 in the second period, but overall the Bears owned a 19-16 advantage.

Rosa leads the Bears in scoring with 12 points on four goals and four assists, while Elenz-Martin’s goal was his third of the season, as he now has eight points on three goals and two assists.

Brown is back in action when it hosts Rutgers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. The Bears will then face No. 8 Harvard at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday in Cambridge.