No. 2 men’s lacrosse (9–2 overall, 3–1 Ivy League) took care of business against the Brown Bears (3–8, 0–4) on Saturday with a dominant 17–7 win thanks in large part to a career-high seven points from sophomore attackman Nate Kabiri. With the win, the Tigers propelled themselves into the No. 2 spot on the national rankings and clinched a spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
“I’ve been here about a decade, and I think this is the first year the Ivy League Tournament has shaken out this early in the season with two weeks left,” Head Coach Matt Madalon told The Daily Princetonian after the game.
The season has seen several hot starts for Princeton, including their matchup against the University of Vermont where senior attackman Coulter Mackesy scored a hat trick halfway through the first quarter. However, it took the Tigers a little time to get going in the cold mist on Saturday.
With 8:42 to go in the first, Brown led 2–1. However, following a solid defensive hold, sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder Cooper Mueller got the ball in transition and let a stinger rip into the top right corner to even the game. The Tigers’ defense has been strong all season, and this goal was just another example of when good defense can generate offense.
“It was great to be able to bury one at that point of the game,” Mueller told the ‘Prince.’ “Having two of the best wing shooters in college lacrosse right now in Nate Kabiri and Coulter Mackesy at attack really opens up the transition game for us.”
From there, the Tigers never looked back, shutting Brown out for the rest of the quarter and severely limiting their offensive output the rest of the day. The Tigers’ offense, however, was just getting started.
With 3:35 to play in the first, sophomore attackman Colin Burns took the ball unassisted from the X — behind the goal — and placed it right next to the goal on the top shelf with a diving shot, well out of reach of Brown’s goalkeeper. The Orange and Black went ahead 3–2.
After a Mackesy goal kicked off the second quarter, Princeton stayed in the driver’s seat. After junior face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin drew a penalty on Brown, giving the Tigers a man-up advantage, Kabiri capitalized with an overhand goal into the top left corner off an assist from his former high school teammate Burns.
“I thought we moved the ball very well on offense,” Kabiri told the ‘Prince.’ “As a group we had a bunch of assisted goals, which shows our ball movement was effective. Playing alongside guys that have great lacrosse IQ and create so many advantages makes my job easier.”
With 2:41 to play in the half, senior attackman Braedon Saris scored an electric jump shot close to the crease to make the score 7–3, hyping up the Princeton sideline and piling on momentum.
At the end of the half, Mueller recorded a skillful caused turnover (CT), making him just the sixth Princeton shortie with at least ten CTs and 20 ground balls in a single season.
“Definitely as a short stick defensive midfielder you’re being targeted the whole game, and we’re really all out there just trying to do our job and not get scored on,” Mueller explained. “But, it definitely is a great feeling when you’re lucky enough to put the ball on the ground and finish out the possession that way.”
Coming out of the break, Princeton was fired up. After Kabiri scored his second goal of the game to make it 9–3 after less than a minute of play, Brown pulled their goalie to try and put up some defensive resistance. It didn’t matter though, as Kabiri notched his third of the day a few minutes later.
Junior goalkeeper Ryan Croddick played a solid game, recording an impressive save percentage of 72.7%. Croddick is averaging 14.64 saves a game this season, leading the NCAA.
For the rest of the third quarter, the Tigers saw goals from Kabiri, Mackesy, and Burns.
In the fourth, with Princeton already leading 13–3, the Tigers made the decision to let more of the roster see the field.
“You have anywhere from 40 to 50 guys on Division I rosters,” Madalon said. “The average team plays about 22 to 25, so there are 20 to 25 guys every week that work their tails off Monday through Friday and don’t get to reap the rewards on game day. So anytime those guys get to go out there and keep holding up our standard, it makes us proud.”
Looking to take advantage of their opportunities, first-year midfielder Jake Vana scored his first career goal of the game with around nine minutes to play in the game.
When the final buzzer rang, Princeton left Sherrerd Field with a 17–7 win. Next Saturday, the Tigers play their penultimate game against the Penn Quakers (4–8, 1–4).
“We hope to continue to play with heart and trust in one another,” Kabiri said after the game. “I hope to learn from the Brown game more on film and bring the focus this week in practice.”
“We’ve been a team that’s had to play through desperation the past couple years,” Madalon told the ‘Prince.’ “So now we’ve got to figure out how to not play through desperation, not plateau, and keep firing on all cylinders and keep playing hungry.”
Doug Schwartz is an associate Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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