Bold three-goal surge brought game within reach in third

Sunday's loss for the men's lacrosse team was only its fourth of the year, but like its previous three, it was against a top-caliber team, with No. 6 seed Georgetown joining No. 2 seed Virginia, No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins and No. 4 seed Cornell. And three of the team's four losses were by a single goal, with the game at Cornell the lone exception.

"We had a crazy year," head coach Bill Tierney said. "We just never could seem to win the big game. We were sure close [and] today was another example [of that]."

But can it be said that tough games were the Achilles' heel of this year? Certainly the circumstances were difficult — all four losses came away from home — but was this a Princeton lacrosse team that only won the games it had a good chance of winning, while choking under pressure during the big games?

Anyone who watched Sunday's contest knows better than that.

Within five minutes of the third quarter's start, Georgetown turned a 4-4 tie into a 7-4 Hoya lead, slicing through the Princeton defense and taking advantage of man-up opportunities. On Georgetown's third goal, senior defender John Bennett's pole snapped in half, giving Georgetown the break it needed to seemingly put the game away.

But Princeton's will was stronger than the titanium in Bennett's pole. The team was barely flustered, and the Tigers were unrushed in their quest to close the gap.

"It was more settled down," senior attack Peter Trombino said about his team's mindset after going down 7-4. "It was the third quarter, and there was still a lot of lacrosse to play."

Indeed, there was. Trombino's low rocket with seven minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter brought the Tigers back within striking distance, and sophomore midfielder Mark Kovler's layup soon after brought the crowd to its feet. Georgetown won the ensuring face-off, but the defense, infused with a new intensity, forced a bad play at the end line and cleared with ease.

The Tigers' intensity was felt throughout the stadium, which despite being predominantly pro-Hoya still held plenty of orange and black-clad fans and parents, the latter being vocally led by someone's father repeatedly imploring his comrades to give him a "T."

Then, with 3:33 remaining in the third frame, senior midfielder Scott Sowanick sliced and diced, drew multiple defenders and found freshman attack Rob Engelke open on the edge of the crease, who tied the game. Only seven minutes after falling behind by three, Princeton had come back.

"We got a couple man-up opportunities and canned those," Trombino said. "So we just didn't give up."

After Georgetown regained the lead right before the third horn, Sowanick retied the game less than two minutes later, setting up a game-defining clash of two defensive titans during regulation's remaining 13 minutes.

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Both teams' defenses and goalies stepped up during this final stretch, each one shutting down the other's offense. Hoya goalie Miles Kass made several key saves, including one on a rocket from Kovler and another on a pointblank strike from junior attack Bob Schneider. Junior goalie Alex Hewit, not to be outdone, matched Kass' four saves for the fourth quarter.

With just over two minutes to go in regulation, an errant Georgetown pass fell into Hewit's lap, and the defense successfully cleared to give the Tigers one more chance to put the game away. Princeton circled the ball around the Georgetown zone a few times, but Tierney called a timeout with 1:24 left on the clock to set up the last play.

Sowanick danced around the goal, drew multiple defenders again and passed to senior midfielder Whitney Hayes, who seemed primed for the shot. But neither the pass nor the reception was smooth, and the ball bounced to the Hoyas.

"We felt comfortable with Scotty handling, and we got a great pick," Tierney said. "We got roughed up a little bit, but both guys came to Scott and he threw it back to Whit, but it was kind of a rough handle. Give credit to them, but we just didn't get it done."

After the game, Tierney said that some teams might not have opted to hold the ball until the end before making a move, but given the back and forth nature of the game, he still believed it was the right decision.

While the storybook comeback and valiant fourth-quarter defensive stand did not end in Princeton's favor, it would be difficult for anyone to argue that this team folded under pressure. And while Princeton might not have a shot at "the big game" this year, it certainly fought like hell trying.