Tigers hold off late Rutgers push for win

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Head coach Bill Tierney of the men's lacrosse team did not think last night's game against Rutgers (1-3 overall) was his team's best, but after two straight 7-6 losses, this team was ready for a win.

Princeton (2-2) led from wire to wire against the Scarlet Knights, but let Rutgers threaten late before putting the game away for a 15-8 road win.

Sophomore midfield Mark Kovler led the way with three goals, while senior attack Peter Trombino and junior attack Bob Schneider each netted two. Eight other Tigers notched one goal apiece. Senior midfield Scott Sowanick led Princeton with three assists and junior attack Alex Haynie added two.

For the third game in a row, the Tigers jumped to a 2-0 lead, but for the first time they held on until the end. After trailing by as many as four goals, Rutgers narrowed the gap back to two with 11 minutes, 50 seconds left in the game before Princeton scored seven more goals to seal the victory. Despite the win, Tierney thought the team left much to be desired.

"I didn't think our defense played great," Tierney said. "Give Rutgers credit; they kept our offensive midfielders on the field, but we can't give up eight goals."

Princeton opened up the scoring just over three minutes into the game when Haynie found Trombino alone at the top of the crease for an easy put-in and followed up just over a minute later when sophomore defense Charlie Kolkin scored the first long-stick goal of the season for the Tigers.

Princeton would add its third score before the first-quarter horn sounded when senior attack Tripp Shriner rocketed a shot from seven yards out just past the left knee of Rutgers goalie Peter Pantages.

Trombino bagged his second goal of the evening in transition 3:09 into the second period when streaking junior defender Dan Cocoziello found him all alone eight yards out to the right of the goal. Rutgers finally got on the board with its own transition shot after three quick passes found an open attacker on the crease.

After Sowanick buried a pointblank shot with 9:56 left in the period, the Tigers suffered a bit of a defensive lapse, giving up two goals in a nine-second span, the first when the protective corps was caught napping and the second right off the ensuing faceoff when miscommunication and a handling error gave Rutgers a free shot from close range.

Princeton ended the half strongly, with Schneider finishing a two-man advantage from directly in front of the cage and Kovler ripping a low, underhand laser from 14 yards out for a 7-3 lead. The Tigers outshot the Scarlet Knights 20-17 in first half, including 14-10 on goal.

Princeton's offense stagnated in the third quarter, as another long strike from Kovler was the Tigers' only tally of the period. Rutgers found the back of the net once in the frame, beating junior goalie Alex Hewit high with 2:55 left on a man-up opportunity. Princeton had other opportunities, but Pantages came up with several strong stops.

Tierney, however, was not keen on his team managing just one goal in the third quarter.

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"We had a mental lapse like we've been having in certain quarters of each game," Tierney said. "The kids thought we were going to win at halftime, and we just got a little sloppy."

The Scarlet Knights began to threaten even more only 24 seconds into the final period on another man-up play, as a close-range shot bounced between Hewit's legs to narrow the gap to three.

With 11:50 left, Princeton's palms really began to sweat when a seemingly uncontested shot hit Hewit's stick and dribbled in, but senior midfield Mike DeSantis answered right back, taking the ensuing faceoff straight to the cage and burying the ball to extend the lead back to three.

Two minutes later, junior midfield Zach Goldberg extended the lead to four on a transition chance right as the Tigers killed a penalty. Sophomore midfield Rich Sgalardi added another with 7:21 left in the game to give Princeton a five-goal lead and a little late breathing room.

The Tigers gave up two more strikes to the Scarlet Knights before the final horn sounded, but a nifty turnaround strike from Schneider, a trademark strike from Kovler and a close shot from sophomore midfield Josh Lesko quashed Rutgers' hopes.

Sophomore midfielder Greg Seaman punctuated the scoring, bouncing a shot in the back of the net with nine seconds left for the final 15-8 margin.

While Tierney was not pleased by Rutgers' offensive output, he approved of Princeton's.

"I loved it," he said. "Of course, we added a couple at the end when the game was essentially over, but if we can get into double digits we can win any lacrosse game."