After starting the season with back-to-back losses to the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, the men's lacrosse team faced unranked Hofstra on Saturday afternoon with the hope of picking up its first win of the season. Despite the improved odds, the Tigers came away with a tough 9-8 loss, the first loss that Princeton (0-3 overall) has suffered against the Pride (2-3) since 1990.
After the teams finished the first, second and third quarters tied, Hofstra outscored the Tigers in the quarter that most mattered. The go ahead goal came with nine minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Pride then utilized stifling defensive pressure to keep Princeton off the board for the remainder of the game to seal the upset victory.
The start of the contest seemed to bode well for the Tigers' chances of claiming the win. Junior midfielder Jim O'Brien notched the first goal of the game with an unassisted shot 3:01 into the game. Just over a minute later, sophomore midfielder Whitney Hayes received a feed from sophomore attack Scott Sowanick and put a low shot past Hofstra goalie Matthew Southard to give Princeton the early 2-0 lead.
The Pride refused to be intimidated by the Tigers' quick start and answered with a goal of their own just before the 10-minute mark in the first quarter. That one goal from midfielder John Orsen was all Hofstra needed to initiate its offensive production, as the Pride added two more goals in just over three minutes to take a 3-2 lead.
Sophomore midfielder Mike Gaudio tied the score at three apiece with 2:09 remaining in the first quarter.
The first quarter was tough on both goalies, as each of the first five shots resulted in scores.
The largest lead of the day came for Princeton at the 8:06 mark in the third quarter when the Tigers went up by two, 7-5, on a goal by sophomore attack Peter Trombino, his second of the day.
Goalie switch
After Hofstra tied the game at seven with five minutes left in the third, head coach Bill Tierney pulled junior goalie Dave Law for the second time this season. As he had against John Hopkins, Tierney put in senior goalie Matt Larkin, who played the final 20 minutes of the contest.
The Pride got a boost at the end of the third quarter when junior Chris Unterstein fed his younger brother Mike who was cutting around the crease. The Hofstra goal was recorded with a mere three seconds remaining on the clock, and once again Princeton had no room for error.
Princeton was in the right place most of the day, but the breaks seemed to all go the other way.
With the game tied at eight going into the fourth quarter, the stage was set for the game-winning goal by Hofstra attack John Keysor that with 9:20 left in the period and epitomized the Tigers' bad luck. It looked like Larkin had saved Keysor's shot, getting his body in the right location to make the stop, but the ball was able to trickle across the line for the decisive goal.
In the remaining minutes of the game, the Tigers doomed themselves with mistakes in their final three possessions. Freshmen attack Pete Striebel was called for a crease violation with just under four minutes remaining. Errant passes on Princeton's next two possessions gave the ball back to Hofstra, enabling the Pride to run out the clock and send the Tigers to their third consecutive defeat.
Underclassmen shine
The lone bright spot for Princeton was the play of its underclassmen. Freshman defenseman Dan Cocoziello led the defensive effort, causing three turnovers and picking up two ground balls. Cocoziello, named the nation's top incoming freshmen, was one of three freshmen starters along with Striebel and midfielder Bob Schneider. Not to be outdone, sophomores accounted for six of the team's eight goals.
The Tigers next take to the field Saturday against Syracuse (1-3) at Class of 1952 Stadium.
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