Tigers fall to Lehigh in tough away game

Despite a tough battle, the Princeton Tigers (1-1, 0-0 Ivy) dropped their second game of the season to Lehigh (2-2, 1-1 Home), 42-28.

The Tigers kept it close throughout the first half, but a tremendous third quarter by the Mountain Hawks allowed them to build a 21-point advantage and stave off a Princeton comeback in the fourth to hang on to their victory.

Lehigh struck first, as vaunted quarterback Nick Shafnisky led the Hawks down the field and hit Derek Knott with a touchdown pass less than five minutes into the game. However, Lehigh would not score again in the first period, and the Tigers managed to come back and tie it up off of an 8-yard run by sophomore running back Charles Volker.

Unfazed, the Hawks struck back to open the second. Shafnisky uncorked a 42-yard pass that put the home team up 14-7 — an advantage that they would add to late in the half with an interception return that made it a 21-7 ballgame. However, Princeton executed in the waning minutes of the second quarter, with Volker again finding an opening and going 22 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 7. As both teams headed to their respective locker rooms, the Tigers found themselves still fully in the contest.

The Tigers came out for the second half looking to further close the gap, and indeed seemed to have corralled Lehigh through much of the third. However, Shafnisky could not be contained — putting together another scoring drive with just over five minutes remaining in the penultimate quarter and unloading a second 56-yard touchdown pass that put the Hawks ahead, 35-14.

Princeton wasn’t done yet. Volker found a way into the end zone again to open the final quarter and bring the Tigers within 14 points, but Lehigh responded on the next drive with a final score that stretched their advantage back to 21. Princeton put together one final touchdown drive when junior quarterback John Lovett scored with just over seven minutes to play. Unfortunately, they never found the end zone again, and the Hawks closed out the game with a 42-28 win.

Much of the credit goes to Shafnisky, who went 29-for-36 and amassed 461 yards and four touchdowns in the air over the course of the game. In the meantime, Princeton’s offense struggled, with senior quarterback Chad Kanoff throwing three picks and none of the Tigers’ top rushers finishing with more than 82 yards.