The Seton Hall men's soccer team came back from a two goal deficit in the second half to force overtime at Princeton, but lost Tuesday night, 3-2.
The loss leaves the Pirates record at 3-6-1 overall and 1-1 in Big East play.
Princeton struck first with a goal by junior Antoine Hoppenot in the 12th minute, beating two Pirate defenders and kicking the ball past freshman Kevin Bonder.
"If you had seen the start of the game, the first 30 minutes, after the Pitt game, you would've said who are these guys in the blue uniforms," head coach Manny Schellscheidt said. "It was only 1-0 at the half but it could've easily been 3-or-4-0. There were uniforms out there but nobody was in them."
In the 63th minute the Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 after the Hall turned the ball over deep in their half of the field. Junior Manny Sardinha recieved a cross and put the ball into the net for the two-goal advantage.
The Pirates would answer, cutting the deficit to one six minutes later. Senior Dritan Sela teamed up with Welker on the left side of the field for a give and go. Sela rifled a low shot that went through the hands and legs of senior goalkeeper Sean Lynch.
"In the second half we were dominate, we were pushing them back," Schellscheidt said. "It was a turnaround you can't explain."
The Hall tied the game up with less than six minutes remaining in regulation. Freshman Max Garcia headed in a long cross from the touchline near the Pirate bench by freshman Victor Manosalvas.
In overtime, Seton Hall was called for a foul in the goal box. The referee awarded Princeton a penalty shot and senior Josh Walburn shot the ball past the left side of Bonder for the game-winner.
"If you leave everything on the field, you have no regrets," Schellscheidt said.
Seton Hall defeated Pittsburgh 4-0 on Oct. 2 for its first Big East win of the season.
The Pirates were led by senior Brayan Martinez's two-goal performance.
Martinez's first goal came on a free kick from 25-yards out as he fired the ball past junior goalkeeper Hami Kara in the 21st minute, putting the Pirates on top.
Four minutes later, Garcia was taken down inside the box for a penalty kick. Senior Steve Rose beat the keeper in the lower right hand corner for his team leading fifth goal.
"Steve has been our most consistent player," Schellscheidt said. "He has had a breakout season in terms of stepping up."
In the second half, junior Joe Baker added to the scoring in the 61st minute heading in a loose rebound into the back of the net to notch his first career goal and give the Pirates a 3-0 advantage.
Five minutes later, Martinez took a free kick from 30 yards out and bent it past the goalkeeper for his fourth score of the season and giving the Hall their most lopsided victory in the past three years.
Bonder made four saves to record his second career shutout.
The Hall travels to Connecticut on Oct. 9 to face the No. 2 Huskies.
Colin Rajala can be reached at colin.rajala@student.shu.edu
