Men's Lacrosse: Tigers reverse roles vs. JHU

One year ago, the men’s lacrosse team traveled to M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., anxious to avenge a double-overtime loss to Johns Hopkins from the year before. Instead, Princeton was flattened 14-9, foreshadowing a season of disappointment.

This time, it was the Tigers’ turn. No. 9 Princeton (2-0 overall) returned to Baltimore for its third engagement with Hopkins in the Konica-Minolta Face-off Classic on Saturday and blasted the No. 6 Blue Jays 14-8 (1-1).

The game felt nearly identical to last year’s. Princeton raced to a 6-1 first-quarter lead and led 9-3 at halftime. Last season, Hopkins led 5-0 at the end of the first quarter and 10-1 at halftime. Princeton widened the gap to 12-4 after the third quarter and then hung on in the fourth quarter for the 14-8 victory.

Princeton’s first three goals were scored by junior attack Scott MacKenzie, senior midfielder Mark Kovler and sophomore attack Jack McBride. The Tigers caught Hopkins in the middle of substitutions, forcing the Blue Jays to use offensive midfielders on defense. Princeton capitalized with ease.

After Hopkins midfielder Michael Kimmel put the Blue Jays on the board, Princeton regained possession when longstick midfielder Charlie Kolkin drew an illegal push. Junior attack Rob Engelke took advantage of the extra-man opportunity, scoring his first goal of the game.

A few minutes later, Princeton picked up another extra-man opportunity, and Kovler made the Blue Jays pay. The senior used a slick stop-and-go move to free himself from his defender before firing a crisp low shot into the net. During the scrum after the ensuing faceoff, McBride found junior midfielder Paul Barnes, who made a few moves before firing home his first goal of the season.

Princeton wasted little time in blowing the game open as the second quarter began. The Tigers dominated possession, peppering the Hopkins goal with shots until junior midfielder Rich Sgalardi found sophomore attack Chris McBride on the doorstep for an easy goal.

Barnes won the ensuing faceoff, allowing the Tigers to set up the offense again. Jack McBride responded to his cousin Chris’ tally, scoring a beautiful goal in which he ran in a wide loop around the crease, got past his defender and fired a shot between Hopkins goalie Michael Gvozden’s legs.

The Tigers then earned another extra-man opportunity, and senior midfielder and co-captain Greg Seaman scored. With seven minutes, 19 seconds left in the first half, the Tigers were leading 9-1. Hopkins scored two more goals before the half and one more to start the third quarter, but Jack McBride responded with consecutive goals of his own before the third quarter ended.

In the fourth quarter, Hopkins outscored the Tigers four to two, but Princeton’s two goals appeared to have been demoralizing for the Blue Jays. The first came from senior shortstick defensive midfielder Josh Lesko, who called upon his background as an offensive midfielder: Instead of subbing off following a change of possession, Lesko directed a fast break before shooting.

The Blue Jays responded with a goal when midfielder Brian Christopher fired an angry shot into the top right corner. But Barnes responded by winning the ensuing faceoff and taking it to the house himself. After winning the draw, Barnes sprinted straight down the middle of the field and fired a low shot home. Gvozden — who many have said might be one of the best goalies in the nation this season — was then replaced by freshman Steven Burke.

“It was a lot like last year’s game, except we were on the other side of it,” Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala said. “Last year, I thought we came out and played with a tremendous amount of emotion and excitement. We really followed our game plan a year ago, but I thought today we were the complete opposite.”

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Princeton’s dominance was attributable to a number of factors. The Tigers’ offense continued its assault on the goal, shooting 51 times. Princeton currently averages 55.5 shots per game, after averaging just over 30 last season.

“We went on this trip to Europe at the end of our season, and I think it really allowed us as a team to loosen up and the guys to realize that there’s no need to stifle these young men,” Tierney said. “If you miss some shots, you miss some shots. You can’t score goals if you don’t shoot.”

The Tigers regularly shot five or more times per possession. The attacks positioned themselves properly so that wayward shots didn’t result in turnovers. This strategy wore down Hopkins’ highly touted defense.

Jack McBride was the stud of the offense for the second consecutive week, leading the team with four goals and five ground balls. He now has eight goals through two games and is well on pace to best his total of 19 from last season.

“I feel a lot more comfortable this year,” Jack McBride said. “I was much more relaxed and much more comfortable. Just being at Princeton one more year has helped me a lot.”

Sgalardi and senior attack Tommy Davis have both been instrumental in facilitating the offense. Neither scored against Hopkins, but both had two assists.

"Those are the ones that are initiating, and, through that, they've been doing a great job of drawing the slides," Jack McBride said.

On the opposite side of the ball, the Tigers were paced by a trio of talented freshmen. Longstick midfielder John Cunningham, defenseman Chad Wiedmaier and goalie Tyler Fiorito all had outstanding days.

Cunningham finished with two ground balls and a forced turnover while spelling senior longpole Charlie Kolkin, who was coming off a hamstring injury. Wiedmaier notched four ground balls and played effectively in tandem with junior defenseman Jeremy Hirsch and senior defenseman and co-captain Chris Peyser. The Hopkins attack totaled two goals and one assist.

Perhaps the most impressive of the three was Fiorito. After splitting time with junior Nikhil Ashra last week, Fiorito started the game and played the whole way through. He saved 11 shots and surrendered eight goals, good for a .571 save percentage. Fiorito cemented the starting job with his performance, but Tierney noted that it is very possible that Ashra could come off the bench.

“It’s a hard situation,” Tierney said. “Tyler’s certainly going to be the starter, but I can’t let Nikhil go on the backburners. He’s just too good. He’s a weapon, and we’ll just have to pick and choose a little bit more when to use that weapon.”

The trio combined on a sizzling play early in the first half. Fiorito made a save, then found Wiedmaier down the middle of the field. Wiedmaier made a move, got around his man and crossed the midfield line. He then directed a pass downfield to Cunningham, who had found space roughly 10 yards from the goal. Cunningham spun and fired low below Gvozden for his first career goal, and the bench went wild.

The teams split the faceoffs, as both Barnes and Hopkins midfielder Matt Dolente won 12 of 24 draws. But Princeton still dominated the time of possession, largely because the defense ended many of Hopkins’ possessions quickly.

This was because of Fiorito’s saves and ability to facilitate clears, but it also resulted from Princeton’s dominance of ground balls. The Tigers won 30 ground balls, while Hopkins won 18.

The win will surely bump Princeton into the top 10, but with a contest against No. 7 University of Maryland-Baltimore County this Friday, it’s too soon to get cocky. Nevertheless, a thumping win over the 2008 national runner-up should give the Tigers a confidence boost that they never quite got last season.