At the moment, the Tigers find themselves in a four-way tie with Cornell (9-4, 4-2), No. 15 Yale (10-3, 4-2) and No. 17 Brown (8-5, 4-2) for first place in the Ancient Eight. This weekend, all four teams are participating in the first-ever Ivy League tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive the Ivy League’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Tonight in Ithaca, N.Y., the second-seeded Tigers will face third-seeded Yale in the opening round of the Ivy League Tournament. If the Tigers defeat Yale, and if top-seeded Cornell beats fourth-seeded Brown, then Princeton will get its rematch with the Big Red.
But before Princeton can think about possibly facing Cornell again, the Tigers must take care of business against the Bulldogs. Earlier this season, Princeton defeated Yale in New Haven, Conn., 7-6.
This season, freshman midfielders Jeff Froccaro and Mike Chanenchuk have wreaked havoc on other teams’ defenses. Froccaro is fifth on the team in scoring, racking up 15 goals and six assists this season. Chanenchuk finished second on the team in scoring with 27 goals and eight assists.
Recently, both freshmen were recognized for their outstanding seasons. Chanenchuk, the highest scoring freshman in Princeton history, became the fourth Tiger ever to win Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Froccaro was a second-team All-Ivy selection.
The fast growth of these two players has helped the Tigers immensely this season. Frocarro had two game-winners, one against Yale and the other in an 11-10 overtime victory against Penn on March 20.
Since the first matchup between Princeton and Yale came down to one goal, Chanenchuk knows that it is going to take a total team effort to beat Yale again.
“Our first game against Yale was a one-goal game,” Chanenchuk said. “We learned that they are a very good team with talented players. If we can stick to our game plan and execute offensively and defensively, I think we will be successful.”
While Chanenchuk and Froccaro have made Princeton’s offense fresh, the defense has been solid as well. Sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito was a first-team All-Ivy selection, along with sophomore defenseman Chad Wiedmaier.
The Tigers are going to need another solid outing from Fiorito in order to advance in the tournament. Yale won six of its last seven games to end up tied for the league championship. Attackman Matt Gibson spearheads the Bulldog offense, having scored 26 goals and 18 assists on the season. Attackman Brian Douglass is second on the team with 32 goals and five assists.
Chanenchuk said that the team as a whole has matured on and off the field. When the Tigers fall behind in games, they do not seem to panic. In the win against Penn earlier this season, Princeton was facing a five-goal deficit heading into halftime. The Tigers responded with a strong second half and eventually sealed the victory.
“This whole year, our team has been optimistic,” Chanenchuk said. “Even when we go down by a few goals, we know we are still in the game.”
Though Princeton is primarily focusing on the matchup against Yale, the team cannot help but think about a possible showdown with Cornell in the final game of the tournament. And what a showdown it would be.
Cornell possesses a huge threat offensively in attackman Rob Pannell, who was recently named the Ivy League Player of the Year. Pannell leads the entire nation in assists per game (3) and also in points per game (4.69). Along with Pannell, five other Big Red players reached double digits in goals scored this season.
In last Saturday’s loss to Cornell, the Tigers found themselves in a 4-0 hole heading into the second quarter. If Princeton can get out to a faster start against the talented Big Red squad, it may have more success.
Chanenchuk and his teammates are certainly paying a lot of attention to the matchup against Yale tonight. But in the back of his mind, he’s thinking about the possible chance to take down one of Princeton’s biggest rivals.
“Cornell is a very good team, and it got the best of us last weekend,” Chanenchuk said. “I know that everyone will be very excited for a chance at redemption.”
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