The men’s lacrosse team continued its torrid run on Tuesday in Riverdale, N.Y., thoroughly dismantling an overmatched Manhattan Jaspers squad. Princeton (3-0) continued to make the most of its high-powered offense, scoring more than 10 goals for its third straight game to secure the 13-8 victory.
The Tigers, in what is quickly becoming standard practice, started the game off quickly. Sophomore midfielder Peter Smyth won the opening faceoff and, less than 15 seconds later, junior attackman Jack McBride found himself with a scoring opportunity. Though McBride was unable to get the goal, his quickness to attack was a testament to the team’s ability to put immense pressure on the Jasper defense.
Princeton finally drew first blood in the fourth minute, when freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuk found the back of the net. Manhattan was able to even the score after winning the ensuing faceoff, but Chanenchuk, who went on a hot streak for the rest of the game, responded quickly with another shot that Jaspers goaltender Matt Solomito could not get a handle on. Chanenchuk netted a total of five goals in the game, and he now has seven goals in his short collegiate career.
Caught off balance by the Tigers’ blistering offense, Manhattan (1-3) managed to score only once more before Princeton went on a three-goal tear to end the first quarter with a 5-2 lead. The Jaspers’ goal marked the start of a scoring drought that lasted until midway through the third session.
The second quarter was more of the same for the Tigers. With 5:03 left, McBride got his first and only goal of the game. Earlier in the season, the highly touted junior scored twice against Hofstra and three times against Johns Hopkins. Chanenchuk tallied one of his five goals less than two minutes later, sending Princeton into the locker room with a 7-2 lead at halftime.
Chanenchuk explained that he felt confident heading into the matchup. “My shot was on,” he said. “I took seven shots and made five, which was really great. Anytime that you’re in warm-ups and are honing in on the cage, that’s going to feel good.”
The Tigers’ willingness to take shots and try to find holes in the Jaspers’ defense was a key to their success throughout the first two quarters. Princeton outshot Manhattan 23-9 in the opening half and 40-23 overall. In addition, the Tigers dominated the faceoffs, winning two of two in the second stanza and 15 of 23 in the game.
Chanenchuk opened the third quarter with yet another goal, giving Princeton an 8-2 lead less than two minutes into the half. After a few minutes of back-and-forth scoring, freshman midfielder Jeff Froccaro — who led the nation in shooting percentage heading into the game and was named the country’s top freshman by Inside Lacrosse on Tuesday — put away the eighth goal of his career. Froccaro scored four times against Hopkins at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic last Saturday, racking up his second-straight hat trick and garnering Player of the Game honors for his strong performance.
With an 11-4 lead at the start of the final quarter, the Tigers rotated some of their less experienced players into the midfield and attack positions. For a few minutes, the Jaspers seemed to have found some energy, scoring three goals to cut Princeton’s lead to 12-7. However, freshman attackman Forest Sonnenfeldt, who was playing in his first collegiate game, scored at 1:38 to complete the Tigers’ 13-8 victory.
The Tigers’ new style of offense this season has caught their opponents off-guard, which has helped the team rack up so many goals, Chanenchuk explained.
“I like to dodge from up top and then shoot on the run,” he said. “So it really helps when I’m working with my wing guy and he’s clearing that space for me. It’s a simple offense – basically just three pairs of two – but it confuses the other “I like to dodge from up top and then shoot on the run,” he said. “So it really helps when I’m working with my wing guy and he’s clearing that space for me. It’s a simple offense – basically just three pairs of two – but it confuses the other team’s defense because there’s a lot of off-ball movement.”
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