The new Neuroscience building may have played a small role in an evening of exciting soccer at Princeton University this past Saturday. As the sun angled low, the white facade presented a bright white background to the Princeton women's goalie as a free kick by Harvard's Bethany Kanten came rocketing from the far side over her head and into the goal. Because of all the machinery, lighting, and people in large buildings, they tend to generate an excess of heat from within, which may explain why the designers of the Neuroscience Institute wanted to reflect off as much of the afternoon's sunlight as possible.
While I was researching the impact of a brightly shining building on the game, Princeton's bright sophomore star Tyler Lussi was scoring the tying goal at the other end of the field. She and senior Lauren Lazo are particularly fleet of foot. Incredibly, Lussi's four goals were not enough to win, with Harvard star Margaret Purce getting the go-ahead score late in the game.
Halfway through the men's game later on, I went foraging for ripe persimmons just below the pedestrian bridge on the other side of the Neuroscience building. Not your typical halftime activity. The men's game was marred somewhat by poor officiating, but it too demonstrated the importance of having an exceptional player or two in a sport where goals can be so hard to come by. The Harvard men fielded a strong team, but without a real standout who could make the difference.
Unfazed by losing a man early on to a red card, Princeton promptly scored two more goals to take a 3-0 lead, then held on to win, nearly erasing the sour taste in my mouth left by the persimmons.
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