The Eastern Championship was deja vu for the Tigers, as they fell to the team that beat them in the Southern Championship game and has had their number all year: Navy.
Easterns combines the top eight finishers from the CWPA Southern Division and Northern Division championship tournaments. The Tigers earned their spot by placing second in Southerns, where they lost to Navy in the championship game. The Tigers hosted Easterns on Nov. 11 and 12 at DeNunzio Pool.
Navy beat the Tigers last weekend in the Southern Championship, when the top-seed at Easterns was on the line. In this championship game, the teams were vying for an NCAA tournament bid.
Navy made the first move, scoring once in the first and once in the second quarter before the Tigers were able to break onto the scoreboard with four minutes, 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
A save from junior goalie Scott Syverson and a goal from senior utility Reid Joseph tied the game up, before Navy retook a 2-4 lead. Then back-to-back goals from junior utility Zach Beckmann with assists from sophomore utility Eric Vreeland tied the score back up at 4-4.
Princeton gained the lead for the first time in the game with 42 seconds left in the half, going into halftime up 5-4. The Midshipmen tied the game at 5-5 with 5:55 left in the third quarter and subsequently capitalized on a penalty shot to regain the lead, up 6-5 with 5:02 left in the third quarter.
Navy controlled the rest of the game, with a final score of 9-6. Beckmann and Joseph led the offense with two scores each, and Syverson made 10 saves. Senior center Nick Seaver was named first-team all-tournament and Joseph and Syverson received second-team honors.
Princeton pulls out nail-biter over Harvard
While the Tigers were able to look past their first two games at Southerns, every game at Easterns presents stiff competition. In its first game Saturday morning, Princeton took on Harvard.
Harvard put the pressure on early, shutting the Tigers out in the first quarter to go up 2-0. The Crimson scored three unanswered goals before the Tigers got onto the scoreboard. Still, once the Tigers got started, they were hard to stop, cutting the Crimson lead to 4-3 going into the half.
The Tigers struck first in the second half, tying the score at 4-4 in the middle of the third quarter. The teams traded goals to bring the score to 5-5 and then 6-6 going into the fourth. Princeton went up early in the fourth but could not build up a substantial lead, as the Crimson brought the score to 7-7.
The Orange and Black went up again 8-7, but the Crimson used a six-on-five advantage to tie the score back up at 8-8 with 23 seconds left in the game. Ultimately, a single point lead was all Princeton needed, as a goal from senior driver Chris Kelsch with just nine seconds remaining in the game gave the Tigers the win. The final score was 9-8.
Kelsch was the leading scorer in the game with three goals. Sophomore driver Brendan Colgan and Joseph had two goals apiece. Syverson made six saves.
St. Francis' victory over Johns Hopkins left the Tigers facing No. 10 St. Francis, the top seed in the tournament, in their second game Saturday. The Terriers came out fast and strong, building up a 4-0 lead with 6:41 left in the first half. But unanswered goals from Colgan, Seaver, Beckmann and Kelsch tied the score at 4-4 with 2:28 left in the half. The Terriers' next goal was answered by Kelsch to leave the game at a 5-5 tie at the end of the half.
The Tigers came out of halftime strong, putting up an 8-5 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter. The Terriers fought back, cutting Princeton's lead to 9-8 with 3:40 left in the game. The Tigers led by 10-9 with 1:29 left in regulation, but a desperate shot by the Terriers snuck past Syverson to tie the score at the buzzer.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, but Princeton moved first in the second. With only 59 seconds left on the clock, Seaver found the goal. Seaver led the offense with five total goals in the game.
Syverson's subsequent block sealed the victory for the Tigers, sending them into a championship showdown against No. 12 Navy. Syverson made 14 saves in the game, while Beckmann and Colgan made two goals each.
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