The Tigers (17-9 overall) started the Division tournament Saturday morning with intensity, defeating George Washington (10-20) and No. 20 Bucknell (15-15) 16-9 and 8-4 respectively. Taking to the pool the next day, the team never looked back during its matchup against the Midshipmen (17-9).
Princeton played on a different level this weekend, executing its offense with confidence and avoiding mental mistakes.
“We are at the point now that every game is a playoff game,” head coach Luis Nicolao said. “The last three months have been lots of hard work, and we entered the weekend with a mentality that if we win a game, it’s great, but if we lose, we know we gave it our all.”
The Tigers jumped to a 6-2 lead in the first period against the Colonials and extended their lead throughout the second quarter, finishing the first half of play up 11-4. Princeton added five more scores in the second half of play, eliminating any chance George Washington had at a comeback.
Senior utility Brendan Colgan led the way for the Tigers with four goals, while junior utility Gregor Horstmeyer and Vreeland each completed hat tricks.
Princeton continued its momentum into the evening, facing Bucknell for the third time this season. After splitting a pair of games during league play, the Tigers focused on coming out strong and getting around a tough Bison defense.
Princeton took the lead early, getting up 2-0 in the first two minutes of play and limiting any chance for Bucknell to execute its offense in the first period. Entering the second period with a 4-1 lead, the Tigers shut out the Bison for eight straight minutes and managed to put another two points on the board, gaining a five-point lead going into the second half.
For the last 16 minutes of play, Princeton refused to let up, keeping the Bison to only three goals and adding another two, clinching a crucial win for the Tigers.
“We played really good team defense and minimized our offensive mistakes,” Nicolao said. “We didn’t give up any opportunities to the opposition.”
The two wins Saturday set up the Tigers for the championship match Sunday evening against top-seeded Navy. Saturday night gave Princeton an evening to prepare mentally for the contest.
“We were just trying to focus on our game and playing the best game we could play,” Nicolao said. “We focused on finishing better and making sure to finish all of our shots.”
The Midshipmen took charge in the first period by winning the sprint and getting a strong backhand outside of two meters for the first goal of the game. Princeton equaled the score in the next minute with a four-meter penalty shot drawn by Colgan. Junior driver Douglas Wigley made it 2-1 with a quick shot from the post, assisted by Vreeland.
The teams went back and forth for the rest of the first quarter, finishing the first eight minutes with the Tigers leading 4-3.
Princeton held a brief two-point lead in the second period, but the Midshipmen tied it at seven entering the second half. Both teams tightened their defense during the last two periods, making the score even at nine coming into the fourth.
The Midshipmen surged during the first two minutes of the fourth, putting two quick goals away for a two-goal advantage only to have the lead neutralized by the Princeton offense within another two minutes. From there, the Tigers dug deep to hold Navy to a standstill for the last three minutes of regulation and jumped ahead with a lob shot from Vreeland with 1:29 to go, winning the Southern title by a final score of 12-11.
Vreeland’s goal would be the last of three he had that game, joining the three Colgan put away as both fueled the Princeton offense throughout the match. Colgan led the Tigers on the weekend with seven goals, followed by Vreeland with six. Sophomore goalie Mike Merlone had 12 saves in the match, finishing the tournament with 25.
With a first-place finish, Princeton will claim the top seed at the upcoming Eastern championship, with No. 12 St. Francis seeded second and Navy seeded third. The Eastern championship will be held in Annapolis, Md., on Nov. 21-23.
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