BALTIMORE – When the top-ranked men's lacrosse team faced off against No. 4 Johns Hopkins Saturday, it was supposed to be a close game.
After all, last year's game between Princeton and Hopkins was close – the Tigers pulled out a dramatic 7-6 win in overtime. The last four contests between the two teams had been decided by a total of six goals, so all indications were for a down-to-the-wire battle.
And it was – for a half.
After holding a slim 6-5 lead at halftime, Princeton (1-0 overall) exploded for seven goals in the third period and routed Johns Hopkins (0-1), 17-10, in front of an overflow crowd of 5,914 at Homewood Field in Baltimore.
Princeton won its 29th consecutive regular-season game, tying the mark set by Syracuse from 1989-91 for the second-longest win streak in Division I college lacrosse history, behind Cornell's 42-game run from 1976-78.
Senior attackman Jesse Hubbard led the Tigers' assault on the overmatched Blue Jay defense, tallying five goals to become the leading goal scorer in Princeton history. Hubbard's five scores pushed his career goal total to 122, two better than the previous Princeton mark held by Justin Tortolani '92.
"When you are playing a team like Princeton, you have to make them pay for any mistakes they make," Blue Jay coach Tony Seaman said. "They made us pay for every mistake we made and we didn't do the same."
After exhibiting an offense that was at times tentative in the first half, Princeton took advantage of Johns Hopkins' inexperienced defensive unit in the third stanza. The Tigers took control with crisp passes, physical defensive play, a series of tremendous individual efforts and explosive one-on-one moves.
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Both Hubbard and senior attackman Chris Massey scored third-period goals on brilliant isolation moves. Massey spun around a Blue Jay defender and fired a shot past Hopkins goalie Brian Carcaterra, while Hubbard's fifth goal was his most spectacular. Working on Hopkins' John Paleologos, Hubbard drove towards Carcaterra, turned his back to the goal and while in midair, flung a shot over his left shoulder that skipped into the net, extending Princeton's lead to 13-7 and adding an exclamation point to the Tigers' surging offense.
"We held back a little bit (in the first half), but after that we got a good feel of what they were doing," said sophomore midfielder Josh Sims, who scored three goals. "In the second half, we were able to come out and take advantage of our opportunities a little bit better."
Twice in the third, Princeton players took advantage of a visibly tired defense with uncontested runs into the Blue Jays' restraining area, as the Hopkins defenders became increasingly unable to stop the Tigers' numerous threats. Senior defenseman Christian Cook and Sims led the two offensive bursts, with Sims finishing his own and Cook dishing to Hubbard for what turned out to be his record-breaking goal.
After some uncertainty as to which goalie would start for the Tigers, junior Corey Popham got the nod, playing well in spite of some initial jitters. Popham wound up with 17 saves and eight goals against, while senior Neal DiBello and freshman Trevor Tierney also saw action.
Another question mark heading into Saturday's game involved faceoffs and which Princeton players would step into the key role after the graduation of James Mitchell '97 and Dennis Kramer '97. Several Tigers, led by midfielders senior Greg Mecca and freshman Matt Bailer, took draws, but the Blue Jays finished the game with an overwhelming 22-9 advantage. Hopkins won nine of 10 draws in the third – a remarkable stat, considering Princeton scored seven goals in the period.
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