Princeton University
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Dartmouth
Boyle Leads Princeton Past Dartmouth, Helps Keep Tigers Alive In Ivy Men's Lacrosse Race
May 01, 2004 | Men's Lacrosse
May 1, 2004
Final Stats
Hanover, N.H. - Ryan Boyle had two goals and four assists and Princeton took advantage of a three-minute non-releasable illegal stick penalty for a tough 10-8 win over Dartmouth in front of an overflow crowd at Scully Fahey Field Saturday afternoon.
The win kept the Tigers (8-3, 4-1) alive in the Ivy League race as they chase a 10th straight title. Dartmouth (7-5, 2-3) was eliminated from Ivy League championship contention, as was Brown, who fell at Cornell 10-9.
Princeton is at Brown next weekend in the final game of the regular season, and a win by the Tigers would give them a share of the league title with Cornell, who finished its Ivy season 5-1 with the win over Brown. Regardless of what happens next weekend, Cornell has clinched the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. "I told the team that as far as I was concerned, the playoffs started for us with this game," said Boyle, who moved past Jesse Hubbard into third place all-time in scoring at Princeton with 213 points, two away from tying Jon Hess for second. "This was a very tough game."
The win came one year after Dartmouth defeated Princeton 13-6 at Class of 1952 Stadium in Princeton's worst Ivy defeat of the last 14 seasons.
"I watched tape of that game this week, and I couldn't sit through it," said Boyle. "Their goalie [Andrew Goldstein] is the kind of goalie who can get into your head. He does a lot to throw off your shot, and then you start thinking about every shot you take. He reminded me of Justin Cynar from Cornell. We had a lot of trouble with him the first year and did much better the next time. Goldstein's great, but we had to work our offfense to get the right kinds of shots."
Princeton led 5-1 early before Dartmouth rallied to make it 5-5 at intermission. The key moment of the game came late in the third quarter and the score tied 6-6. Dartmouth's Russell Radebaugh appeared to have scored a goal to give the Big Green the lead, but Princeton coach Bill Tierney challenged the stick. The officials ruled Radebaugh's stick illegal, wiping out the goal and giving Princeto a three-minute non-releasable man advantage.
Instead of being down 7-6, Princeton instead grabbed the lead at 7-6 when Boyle scored 53 seconds later. It became 8-6 when, after a Dartmouth slash, Drew Casino scored another minute after that.
"I saw it before the game," Tierney said. "I think it gave us a spark. We were up 5-1, turned the ball over, and then didn't see it again it seemed until it was 5-5. Then it was 6-6 for a long time. I feel very fortunate to win the game. We did the things we had to do at the right time, but Dartmouth is very, very good."
Brad Heritage scored his third goal to make it 8-7 early in the fourth, but Casino answered to make it a two-goal game against with 6:02 left. Princeton then won the face-off and held the ball for two minutes before turning it over, and Jamie Coffin scored his second goal, on Ben Grinnell's fifth assist, to make it a 9-8 game with 3:07 left.
Dartmouth had two opportunities after that but couldn't get a shot off. Boyle sealed the game when he scored with 48 seconds left after Goldstein had left the net to double the ball, and Princeton got the ball back without a face-off when Dartmouth was called for a late hit on Boyle.
Casino, Jason Doneger and Peter Trombino scored two goals each for Princeton, while Scott Sowanick had a goal and two assists and Trombino added an assist. Whitney Hayes also had a goal for the Tigers.
Trombino set a school record for consecutive games with at least one goal to start a freshman year with 11, breaking Lorne Smith's record from 1996. Doneger now has one goal in 27 straight games, one off Scott Conklin for the second longest streak in school history behind Chris Massey's 46.
Ryan Schoenig won 9 of 10 face-offs for Princeton.
Coffin had two goals, and Tom Daniels added two for Dartmouth, giving him eight in three years against the Tigers.
Princeton also kept alive several streaks. The Tigers, who won their 26th Ivy League road game, still have not lost consecutive Ivy games since 1989 and have never lost consecutive games to Dartmouth.
"That stuff doesn't mean much during the game itself," Tierney said. "It has no impact on that day. But it goes a long way with our players when they put on our uniform and understand what they're carrying forth."