On another rainy night at Sherrerd Field, the No. 14 ranked Princeton men’s lacrosse (7–3 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) defeated the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4–6 overall, 2–2 Patriot League) 12–10 on Tuesday, April 2.
Coming off of a triumphant win against in-conference opponent Dartmouth last weekend, the Tigers were hungry for more. While the win gave them momentum, it also gave them just two days to prepare for Lehigh.
“Our coaches gave us everything we needed. On short weeks like this, it takes everyone to make sure we are ready to go come game time,” sophomore attacker Chad Palumbo told The Daily Princetonian.
The men’s Princeton team and Lehigh had not met since 2017. In their last matchup, the Mountain Hawks beat the Tigers with a score of 15–10. This time, Princeton came out determined to secure a victory.
Not even three minutes into play, the Tigers struck first. First-year attacker Nate Kabiri scored his 25th goal of the season to give Princeton a 1–0 lead. The goal was assisted by junior midfielder Sean Cameron.
The rest of the first quarter was dominated by defense. Seven minutes into the game, the Mountain Hawks shifted from zone defense to man-to-man, halting the Tiger offense.
“[Lehigh] had a great defensive game plan,” head coach Matt Madalon told the ‘Prince.’ “They varied the different levels of pressure and kept us on our heels the whole night.”
After nearly a 10-minute scoring drought from both sides, Lehigh’s Andrew Kelly found the back of the net to even the score 1–1. To end the quarter, Princeton struck back. Junior attacker Coulter Mackesy scored at the buzzer off of an assist from Kabiri. The Tigers entered the second quarter with a 2–1 lead.
0:00 Q1 │ ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????????
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) April 2, 2024
Mackesy from Kabiri as time expires 😅😅😅 pic.twitter.com/zszIgXuyDH
Three minutes into the second quarter, the scoring picked up on both sides. Lehigh netted a goal to tie the game at 2–2. Following the goal, Princeton’s sophomore face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin scored to take back the lead, putting the Tigers up 3–2. McMeekin has now scored a goal in each of the Tigers’ last five games. Following a Lehigh goal, the Tigers next goal came from sophomore attacker Chad Palumbo, putting the Tigers up 4–3.
However, Lehigh would not be silenced. The Mountain Hawks earned their first lead of the game with a four-goal scoring run mid-way into the second quarter. Lehigh led 7–4 with five minutes left in the half.
Following a timeout from head coach Matt Madalon, Palumbo scored his second goal of the game to cut the Lehigh lead to two. The game entered halftime with the Tigers down 7–5.
“Going into the second half, the coaches made it clear that we had to up our intensity and focus to win the game,” Mackesy told the ‘Prince.’ “Relying on our systems and preparation helped us, but going 110 percent was most important down the stretch,” he added.
To start the second half, Lehigh netted another goal, increasing their lead back to three. Not letting the game get away from them, the Tigers responded quickly. First-year attacker Colin Burns, assisted by senior attacker Lukas Stanat, worked past two defenders to put Princeton back in the chase, cutting the Mountain Hawks’ lead to 8–6.
The Tigers continued to chip away at Lehigh's advantage. With seven minutes left in the quarter, Kabiri scored to put the Tigers within one. Two minutes later, Mackesy, with an assist from Cameron, evened the score at 8–8, tying the game for the first time in the half.
To add to the Tigers’ run, Palumbo, assisted by Kabiri, netted his third goal of the game, giving Princeton a 9–8 lead.
Lehigh scored a goal with three seconds left in the quarter, heading into the final period of play with the score knotted 9–9. In the third quarter, the Tigers outscored the Mountain Hawks 4–2, nearly reversing Lehigh's run from the second quarter.
Entering the final period of play, Kabiri, with an assist from sophomore midfielder Quinn Krammer, earned himself a hat trick, whipping a far shot to give the Tigers a 10–9 lead. The Mountain Hawks fired back soon after, evening the score at 10 goals apiece.
Mackesy commanded Princeton’s next possessions, netting back-to-back goals to put the Tigers up by two with a score of 12–10.
9:45 Q4 │ CMAC FROM DEEP
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) April 3, 2024
11-10, Tigers. pic.twitter.com/WVeo6vYnFq
For the remainder of the quarter, the Princeton defense was bulletproof. Senior goalie Michael Gianforcaro had 11 saves throughout the game, including three in the fourth quarter. The Tigers also retrieved six ground balls in the final quarter. This effort allowed them to complete their comeback and emerge victorious.
“Gianforcaro did a great job making some stops down the stretch,” Madalon remarked. “He’s a senior leader and captain, he’s kind of the backbone of that defense. So it was great to see from him,” he continued.
Closing out the back-and-forth Tuesday night affair, Princeton earned their seventh win of the season with a final score of 12–10.
The Tigers will enter a week break from games before returning to in-conference play. Princeton’s next game will be played away on Saturday, April 13 against the Brown Bears.
“We’ve got a long 11-day break coming up which we will certainly take advantage of,” Palumbo told the ‘Prince.’ “The result of our season is defined by these last few games, which sounds scary, but it means that everything we want is right in front of us.”
Lily Pampolina is a Sports contributor and contributing Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
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