Down 3-2 coming out of the locker room, Princeton (1-0) took control of the second half from the faceoff, which junior midfielder Paul Barnes won. The Tigers took two shots before sophomore attack Jack McBride tied the score at three less than two minutes into the quarter.
“The message was, ‘This isn’t Princeton lacrosse,’ ” McBride said of head coach Bill Tierney’s halftime speech. “The last couple years, we haven’t been having the years we wanted to have. We worked extra hard this off-season, extra hard all preseason just to get back to where we wanted to be. He was just like, ‘Just remember all the stuff we’ve done, just stick to what we’ve done all preseason, just start relaxing and put the ball in the back of the net.’ ”
McBride’s score opened the floodgates. Three minutes, 30 seconds later, junior attack Rob Engelke cradled a pass from McBride, walked to the crease and ripped a shot topside over the goalie’s shoulder, giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead.
Canisius wasn’t ready to go down yet, as the Golden Griffins won the faceoff and followed up with a goal from midfielder Adam Jones, who took advantage of a one-on-one with junior goalkeeper Nikhil Ashra.
It was the last time the Golden Griffins were in contention. Princeton won the faceoff with a ground ball pickup by sophomore midfielder Tyler Moni. At 8:33, McBride netted his second of four goals on the possession, perfectly bouncing a shot into the top corner of the net.
Princeton won the ensuing faceoff with a big ground ball pickup by freshman longpole John Cunningham. Cunningham was the big surprise of the game, playing in place of injured senior Charlie Kolkin and making big plays every time he stepped on the field.
Cunningham was satisfied with the performance that he put forth.
“I’ve always been a hard-work guy and a hustle guy, and that’s what I try to do, and hopefully I do it well,” Cunningham said.
Princeton controlled play for the next two minutes, and though the Golden Griffins forced a pair of turnovers, McBride picked up his third goal on an assist from junior attack Scott MacKenzie, giving the Tigers a 6-4 lead.
Canisius called a timeout after McBride’s goal, but it didn’t help the Golden Griffins regain their balance. Senior attack Tommy Davis’ shot was blocked, and a quick stick from senior midfielder Rich Sgalardi was saved before MacKenzie connected for a three-goal lead.
Sophomore attack Chris McBride continued Princeton’s onslaught, scoring the Tigers’ eighth goal with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
Less than 30 seconds later, Princeton was at it again with a goal from Davis, whose presence had been felt on offense all game. Engelke scored the Tigers’ last goal of the quarter with just 16 seconds left, giving them a secure 10-4 lead with 15 minutes left to play.
“Once they started moving and getting out of each other’s way, it started looking pretty good,” Tierney said of his team’s second-half performance.
Canisius started the quarter off strong, scoring two goals in the first two minutes of the quarter, but the Tiger defense tightened up. The high-octane Princeton offense kept up its effort from the third quarter, scoring four goals, one each from each McBride and two from Davis.
The second-half explosion was unexpected: Princeton’s offense was somewhat lackluster in the first half, though the defense played excellently, holding the potent Canisius offense to just three goals.
Princeton scored first with a shot from Sglaradi, taking a one-goal lead that held for the entire first quarter.
The Golden Griffins tied the score at one roughly two minutes into the second quarter and widened their lead to 3-1 with five minutes left in the half. Princeton had the final word of the half, however, with a topside shot from outside. The Tigers took the momentum into halftime and came out for a huge third quarter and a 14-6 win in their first game of the 2009 season.
Chris McBride noted that while this game was successful for the Tigers, a slow start in next weekend’s game against Johns Hopkins could prevent Princeton from winning the Face-off Classic.
“The third quarter we started feeling a little more comfortable,” McBride said. “[But] there’s no way we can come out the way we did next weekend.”
For an in-depth look at the men’s lacrosse team and its prospects for the upcoming season, be sure to check The Daily Princetonian’s spring sports preview on Friday.
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