Men's Lacrosse: Froccaro goal caps comeback victory

The men’s lacrosse team began its spring break with the opportunity to firmly establish itself as one of the top programs in the nation in its post-Tierney era. Two wins and one loss later, Princeton (5-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) had done just that.

Over the course of seven days, the Tigers took on No. 19 University of Maryland, Baltimore County, No. 3 North Carolina and Penn, earning strong wins against UMBC and Penn while enduring a heartbreaking loss at Carolina’s hands. The games ranged from nail-bitingly close to incredibly lopsided, and each one proved to be a challenging test for the young Tigers.

Princeton finished its seven-day series with a game against Penn, an unranked team that it had previously defeated 20 straight times. Many thought that Saturday’s matchup would be much of the same, but they were sorely mistaken.

The Quakers played a fiery and flawless first half, racing out to a four-goal lead before the Tigers even had a chance to respond. Though freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuk put Princeton on the board midway through the second quarter, Penn scored two more goals to end the first half with a 6-1 lead.

Princeton went on a hot streak to begin the second half, notching four goals to bring the game to a 7-5 margin. After scoring four goals in a 78-second span, the Tigers found themselves tied at nine apiece in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Chanenchuk tallied his third goal of the game off a slick pass from sophomore attackman Mike Grossman to put the Tigers ahead 10-9. Though it seemed like the game was all but over, Penn attackman Rob McMullen rocketed the ball past sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.

Princeton dominated the overtime period, taking five shots to the Quakers’ zero. With just 52 seconds left in the extra period, freshman midfielder Jeff Froccaro took a shot and was rewarded with his 10th goal of the season. Though it was only his second goal of the game, it was all the Tigers needed.

“[Froccaro] doesn’t back down from any situation,” said head coach Chris Bates, who succeeded Bill Tierney this season. “He wanted the ball in the huddle. He’s a freshman, and he wants the ball in overtime in his sixth collegiate game.”

Overall, Bates said he was pleased with the team’s win, describing it as essential for building the young squad’s confidence.

“This was a great character win,” Bates said. “Really, we had no business winning that game. We hardly had the ball. We played way too much defense, and they really picked us apart. They completely dominated us for the first two-plus quarters. There was a point where not only weren’t we playing well, but we also weren’t getting the bounces. You start to wonder if it’s going to be your day or not. In the end, we made some big plays and got a big win.”

Though the Tigers finished their spring break schedule in style, the way they started it was anything but. Case in point: Their first game against UMBC (3-8) began in the middle of New Jersey’s biggest rainstorm of the year. With the temperature barely topping 50 degrees, Princeton raced out to a 5-1 lead off of strong goals by senior attackmen Scott Mackenzie and Rob Engelke, senior midfielder Paul Barnes and junior attackmen Jack and Chris McBride. Though the Tigers shot only 45 percent during the first quarter, they played more aggressively than the Retrievers, taking 11 shots to their six. It was a trend that continued for the entire game, as Princeton was continually able to exploit UMBC’s defense.

“I think the weather hurt them,” Bates said. “It wasn’t great for us either, but UMBC is a tough team. We were able to get off to a good start, and on a day [with bad weather] like this, that’s important.”

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One of the keys to the Tigers’ fast start was freshman midfielder Bobby Lucas, who was the team’s face-off specialist during the game. Lucas, who did not see playing time during the first two games of the season, won all of the face-offs in the first quarter, denying the Retrievers the ball seven times in the session.

“We had the ball the whole first half,” Bates said. “Face-offs are so hard to predict, but [Lucas] did an excellent job.”

As the game drew on, Princeton continued to overwhelm the UMBC offense. At one point in the second quarter, the Tigers led 7-1 — one of the largest margins the team has seen this season. After two more sessions of strong offensive play, Chanenchuk put the final nail in the Retreivers’ coffin with his eighth goal of the season, securing Princeton’s 10-5 victory.

Three days later, the Tigers traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a highly anticipated game against the North Carolina Tar Heels (8-0) that had been touted as one of the best potential matchups of the 2010 season. Both teams had been undefeated until that point and had enjoyed victories over teams ranked in the top 10. Just a few minutes into the first half, however, Princeton found itself in a position that it was not used to: losing by five goals to its opponent.

When the game first began, the Tigers were able to match the Tar Heels goal-for-goal, answering each of their points with one of their own. But after Princeton drew to within one goal, the Tar Heels began a torrid, five-goal run that ended with North Carolina leading the Tigers 7-2 midway through the second quarter.

Princeton regained some life in the second half and fought its way to only a three-goal deficit, finishing the third quarter down 10-7. By all accounts, though, it seemed like the Tar Heels’ stifling defense was just too much for the Tigers to handle. That impression faded in the fourth quarter.

With tenacity and an intense focus, Princeton roared out of the fourth-stanza gates and sparked the powerful offense for which the team has become so famous. At 9:33, Chris McBride slipped the ball to Engelke, who unflinchingly ripped a shot that found the back of the net. Minutes later, Chanenchuk followed with two goals of his own to tie the game at 10-10.

Carolina refused to be intimidated, however, and attackman Billy Bitter and midfielder Cryder DiPietro each tallied a goal to lift the Tar Heels to a 12-10 lead. Though Engelke scored a dramatic goal with two seconds left in the game, it was not enough, and the Tigers fell 12-11.