Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Maryland NCAA quarterfinals
Boyle Wills Princeton Past Maryland In Overtime And Back To Final Four
May 22, 2004 | Men's Lacrosse
May 22, 2004
Box Score?|? Quotes
Charlottesville, Va. - Ryan Boyle wasn't going to let a two-goal deficit and a sizzling goalie end his Princeton career short of the Final Four.
Boyle scored two goals in the final two minutes of regulation to tie the score and then set up Peter Trombino perfectly 1:42 into overtime to will Princeton to a 9-8 win over Maryland in the NCAA quarterfinals in front of 2,869 at Scott Stadium at the University of Virginia.
"The thought that this might be the end of my career never entered my mind," Boyle said.
The victory sent sixth-seeded Princeton into next weekend's Final Four at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, where the Tigers will take on the winner of tomorrow's game between Navy and Cornell in the second semifinal. Princeton, who has won six NCAA championships, is making its 10th Final Four appearance. The Tigers, 11-3 on the year, improved to 6-1 in NCAA tournament games in overtime and 19-3 in NCAA tournament games decided by one or two goals.
Princeton trailed 8-6 late in the fourth quarter before Boyle simply took over the game. Matched up against Chris Passavia, perhaps the best defenseman in Division I, Boyle finished the game with three goals and two assists, of which two goals and one assist came in the final two minutes of regulation and the overtime.
Boyle made it a one-goal game when he took Passavia one-on-one from behind the cage and beat Tim McGinnis, the Maryland goalie, with 1:55 to go. After Princeton won the face-off, McGinnis made three quick saves, two on Boyle and one on Scott Sowanick, and watched as Jason Doneger hit the pipe as well. Maryland cleared the ball and could have run time off the clock, but Joe Walters took a shot with 30 seconds left that Dave Law saved for the Tigers.
Princeton then cleared the ball again, and Sowanick shot wide with 17 seconds remaining. Princeton maintained possession, and Boyle took the ball behind the net on the restart, again going one-on-one with Passavia. This time, Boyle took Passavia in front of the net and shot high, beating McGinnis to tie it with 12 seconds left.
"There's always more time than you think," Boyle said. "When you're desperate, you can get a lot of shots off. You never want to have to make an all-or-nothing move, but at the end, I had no choice. Luckily, it was all, not nothing."
Maryland then won the face-off, and the Terps caught a huge break when Princeton was whistled for a holding penalty with one second left. That gave Maryland possession of the ball with a man-advantage to start overtime, but a miscommunication on a pass immediately gave possession back to Princeton.
The Tigers then called a timeout, and Sowanick took the ball when play resumed and got it behind the net to Boyle.
Once again, Boyle took Passavia in front of the net, but this time Maryland collapsed on him. Boyle, who assisted on B.J. Prager's goal in overtime to win the 2001 NCAA championship, fed across the crease to Trombino, who drilled it past McGinnis to send the Tigers to the Final Four.
"I don't think nervous is the right word," Trombino said. "Everyone slid to Ryan, and I was just sitting there. I was thinking 'is the ball really coming to me?' I just caught it and didn't think about it. Ryan set it all up."
Maryland led 2-0 early and 3-1 in the second quarter before Princeton took a 4-3 lead at intermission. Maryland would regain the lead at 7-6 on goals by Bill McGlone and J.R. Bordley 15 seconds apart late in the third, and Bordley scored again early in the fourth to make it 8-6. It would stay that way until Boyle's heroics.
"Anyone who doubts the size of Ryan Boyle's heart hasn't been around him for four years," said Princeton coach Bill Tierney. "He's done amazing things every day."
Trombino, the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, had not scored until overtime, but his goal kept alive his streak of having at least one goal in every game this season.
Jason Doneger and Whitney Hayes scored two goals for Princeton while Brendan Healey and Justin Smith joined Bordley with two each for Maryland.
The Terps outshot Princeton 33-27.
McGinnis made 12 saves for Maryland, while Dave Law made 11 for Princeton.
"We feel very fortunate to have beaten a great Maryland team," said Tierney. "I thought we just dug deep down. I think what happens is that you get kids like Peter Trombino who want to come to Princeton and maintain the legacy of players like Ryan Boyle. "
Princeotn has defeated Maryland five straight times in the NCAA tournament. Princeton has won six straight NCAA games in overtime after losing the 1991 quarterfinal to Towson, including four wins in overtime in NCAA championship games.
Princeton also returns to the Final Four after missing last year. The last time Princeton went two straight years without going to the Final Four was 1990 and 1991.
"We always make it exciting," Boyle said. "If we get to overtime, usually good things happen."