Princeton loses to Yale in title game after Cornell upset

The men’s lacrosse team’s three-goal surge to tie Yale at six in Sunday’s Ivy League championship game was not enough to hold off the Bulldogs (11-4 overall, 6-2 Ivy League), who responded resiliently with a five-goal run that put the game out of reach for the Tigers (9-5, 4-4).

After Yale amassed a 6-2 lead, with midfielder Michael Lipin’s netting the sixth goal with 2:36 left to play in the first half, Princeton responded quickly — sophomore attackman Mike MacDonald scored with 28 seconds remaining in the half, and senior midfielder Jeff Froccaro opened up the third quarter with three consecutive goals, knotting the score at 6-6 with 10:43 left in the period. Yale responded by scoring five goals in just under seven minutes, increasing its advantage to 11-6 before the end of the third quarter. Princeton scored twice in the final frame, but the Yale defense remained strong, and the Bulldogs sailed to a comfortable 12-8 victory.

The loss quashed Princeton’s hopes of winning the Ivy League and earning an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament. Although Princeton won 13 of 23 face-offs when the Tigers defeated Yale 10-9 in Princeton in late March, on Sunday the Tigers managed to win only four of 24 face-off opportunities, not a single one of which came in the first half.

Princeton earned its Ivy League championship berth after a stunning defeat of Cornell on Friday night in the Ivy semifinal. Although the No. 2 Big Red defeated Princeton 17-11 on April 27 at the Konica Minolta Big City Classic at MetLife Stadium, the Tigers came back from five separate deficits to win in overtime Friday. Sophomore midfielder Kip Orban fired the game-winning goal with 1:19 remaining in the first overtime period, beating Cornell goalkeeper AJ Fiore and sending Princeton on to face Yale.

The Tigers were fueled throughout the semifinal game by MacDonald’s seven-goal performance. MacDonald scored in every quarter except the second, accounting for Princeton’s first two goals in the first quarter, a key goal that gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead in the third quarter, and four essential goals in the fourth quarter to keep Princeton in the game. MacDonald also tallied two assists in the game. With his one goal and two assists in Sunday’s loss to Yale, MacDonald has now scored 43 goals and recorded 16 assists this season.

After the loss to Yale, Princeton’s NCAA tournament hopes were in jeopardy. A win would have guaranteed the Tigers a berth in the tournament. Princeton’s fate was decided on Sunday night, when the NCAA at-large bids were announced and the Tigers did not make the cut. The Tigers have won the Ivy League tournament only once, in 2010, but have still made the tournament 20 times in the last 23 years. They earned a spot in the NCAA tournament last season but lost to UVA in the first round.