The scoreboard won’t show it, but the Princeton Tigers boys soccer team made some big strides on the pitch at Bryant Field Tuesday night.

The Tigers played Alleman to a 1-0 halftime score and to a 4-0 game until the Pioneers chipped in two goals in the final six minutes to put the finishing touches on a 6-0 victory over the Tigers.

Princeton fell 2-0 in its season opener at Ottawa on Monday, but didn’t play near as well as they did Tuesday, coach David Gray said.

“We were defending most of the first half and I think we did a good job staying in their way and making it difficult for ‘em,” Gray said. “But when you’re defending all the time and start to give up a couple goals it becomes hard, mentally and emotionally. Spaces get bigger and they start taking more advantage of those.

“It’s a huge improvement from last night in terms of our communication and organization,” he added. “I think we learned alot especially about our ability to defend. Alleman is a good team and eventually started breaking us down. It’s a good step forward. But tonight’s result isn’t going to show that.”

Gray said said it was good for the Tigers to get a look at a team of Alleman’s caliber.

“Alleman’s one of the top program’s we’re going to play this yea. We’ve seen among the best we’re going to see and I think it’s good to see that early so we can get those lessons in.”

The Pioneers scored at 19:36 in the first half rode that to a 1-0 halftime lead.

Alleman scored in the 38th, 29th and 17th minute mark to take a 4-0 lead. The Pioneers scored on a PK just under six minutes left in the game and tacked on a final goal at 2:32.