No. 3 men’s lacrosse (5–1 overall, 1–0 Ivy League) beat Yale (3–3, 0–1) 11–10 in their first Ivy League matchup this season on Saturday. According to the USILA rankings, the Tigers are currently the top Ivy League team. They proved their prowess with composure during the last minutes of this close matchup.
Princeton is used to the pressure, and their track record from earlier this season proves it. The Tigers beat three No. 1 ranked teams — Maryland went down at 13–12, Syracuse was sunk at 11–7, and North Carolina was knocked out at 11–9. The only difference between those games and Saturday’s were the expectations: Princeton was pushed by an unranked Yale team.
The first quarter started with a Tiger offensive possession, but nothing came of it. Yale struck first, burying a goal early with 12:36 to go. In all of the Tigers’ prior wins this season, they had scored against their opponents first. Despite this, the Tigers were far from rattled.
“We were expecting [Yale] to throw some punches early, they did a really nice job,” Head Coach Matt Madalon told The Daily Princetonian.
Junior attacker Nate Kabiri got the first goal for the Tigers, making his defender fall with a crafty move. Not long after that, sophomore midfielder Jake Vana scored to put the team ahead by one. With less than five minutes left in the first quarter, sophomore attacker Porter Malkiel bounced the ball into the back of the net to put Princeton ahead 3–1 entering the second.
“I think our offense has had some great games but it’s really about trying to stack days,” Malkeil told the ‘Prince.’
The next 15 minutes started with first-year midfielder Parker Reynolds ripping an unassisted goal. Yale scored very early on in the following possession to make the score 4–2. The Bulldogs are known for their patience when it comes to their shot selection. The Tigers might not have expected that goal, but they controlled how they responded to it.
Malkiel scored his second of the day off a Kabiri assist at the 8:57 mark. Junior midfielder Tucker Wade succeeded in his split dodge to score nearly three minutes later. Sophomore attacker Peter Buonanno saw the ball through the net after he worked it around the crease. The 3–0 run put Princeton up 7–2.
Now, it was Yale’s turn. The Bulldogs got a pair to go cut the Tigers’ lead to three at 7–4. However, Princeton wouldn’t let Yale keep momentum heading into halftime. It was Vana who scored with just one second remaining on the clock. Going into the locker room, the Tigers doubled the Bulldogs at 8–4.
“Yale has a very physical style of defense that works to disrupt the rhythm of their opponents with quick sliding and double teams,” Vana explained. “This week was focused especially on the mental side where we needed to be strong and not allow their physicality to take us off our game.”
In the quarter following halftime, Princeton managed to tally only one more goal coming off the stick of Kabiri. Yale, on the other hand, really found their footing. The Bulldogs were getting defensive stops and converting them into points, with defender Patrick Pisano being the catalyst. The scoreboard read 9–6 Princeton.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Yale had a man-up opportunity. Boasting the best man-up percentage in the country, it was no surprise that the Bulldogs scored less than a minute into the last quarter of play. With around 11 minutes remaining, Yale struck again, making it a one goal game at 9–8.
Vana was the guy for the Tigers when they needed it most, finding and exploiting the space on the field. He only had three goals in his collegiate career prior to this game, and he matched that total on Saturday. With another goal of his, the Tigers led 10–8, but Yale wasn’t letting up. The Bulldogs scored again at 6:38 to make it a one-point game yet again.
The clock was dwindling, and the Bulldogs decided to remove their goalie. Buonanno took full advantage of the wide open cage and scored. Yale got the final punch with 13.8 seconds left by finding a goal of their own, but it no longer mattered at that point. 11–10 was the final score, and Princeton was on top.
“I’m happy to get out of there. That was a tough road win,” Coach Madalon said.
The Tigers are set to contest No. 11 Cornell (4–2, 1–0), the reigning National Champions, this Saturday. Winning your first conference game makes a statement, but beating the National Champions would surely make a roar throughout Division 1.
Emilia Reay is a senior Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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