Princeton’s sense of desperation was multiplied when the Tigers learned that none of their scrum-halves would be healthy to play on Saturday. Junior Spencer Ryan, who normally plays flanker, stepped into the starting scrum-half role, but had only a week of practice to learn a position that requires a specific set of skills, including the ability to make strategic decisions under pressure.
After 80 minutes of play, Princeton (3-4 overall, 1-2 Ivy League) emerged with a 20-7 victory, turning its anxiety into optimism for the rest of the Ivy schedule.
As is so crucial on the road, Princeton got out to a fast start, dominating the first 20 minutes of play. Junior fly-half Pete Davison gave the Tigers the lead when he recovered his own grub kick for a try in the 10th minute. This individual effort was followed 10 minutes later by a try that involved Princeton’s entire back line. In a single phase, the Tiger backs took the ball from inside their own 22-meter line to Cornell’s try zone. The play began when senior wing Mitch Adwon broke free with a stiff-arm that sent his defender sprawling. Adwon exploded for several long runs in last weekend’s games against Brown and Dartmouth, but none were backed up as well as this one, which was extended into a try by a gang of supporting runners.
Adwon’s try, along with a penalty kick by Davison, brought the Tigers’ lead to 13-0, before Cornell fought back with a score at the end of the first half. Though Princeton held a 13-7 lead, 11th-year head coach Rich Lopacki was upset with his team for a series of mental mistakes that let Cornell get back in the game.
“After the way we finished the [first] half, Coach Rich got in our face and challenged us to execute better in the second half,” senior lock and captain Zak Deschaine said.
Princeton responded to Lopacki’s challenge and opened the second half with new energy and purpose. All 15 Princeton players committed to defense, and shut Cornell out for the rest of the game. Deschaine and freshman eight-man Yaared Al-Mehairi were central to this defensive charge. Deschaine led the goal line defense by twice holding up Cornell ball carriers in the Princeton try zone, demonstrating exceptional strength and timing. Al-Mehairi, a punishing tackler, consistently frustrated Cornell’s top runner, flanker Paulo Reis, in the rucks.
Though Ryan may have been inexperienced at leading an offense from the scrum-half position, he gave the Tigers a distinct defensive advantage.
“Spencer brought something new to the scrum-half position for us,” Deschaine said. “He gave us a lot of physicality in a position where we normally have finesse. It seemed like he was everywhere on defense.”
After a Cornell player was penalized for an egregious hit on Davison, the Tigers immediately got their revenge with their third try of the game. The penalty set up a lineout, which Princeton used to create a maul. Seeming to channel their anger at the illegal hit, the Tigers drove the maul into the Cornell try zone, where Deschaine completed the try.
“This win was a rallying point for the rest of our season,” Deschaine said. “All 15 guys used every bit of their strength to achieve the win.”
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