Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Virginia
Players Mentioned
Tigers Drop Another Men's Lacrosse Heartbreaker
March 10, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
Maybe it's because the total number adds up to 13. Maybe it's just coincidence. Whatever the reason, mention a score of 7-6 to the Princeton men's lacrosse team, and you're not going to get too many smiles backs right about now.
Princeton dropped its second 7-6 heartbreaker in as many games as Ben Rubeor's goal with 25.4 seconds remaining gave defending NCAA champion Virginia a win over Princeton by that haunted score in front of 4,143 fans on a gorgeous day in Charlottesville. This game followed by one week Princeton's 7-6 double-overtime loss to Johns Hopkins.
If that wasn't bad enough, Princeton also lost 7-6 to Virginia a year ago at Princeton Stadium.
"It was a great game by two great defensive teams with two great goalies," said Tiger coach Bill Tierney. "I thought both goalies were fabulous. I thought it was a great game."
Princeton slipped to 1-2 on the young season after the pair of heartbreakers. UVa is now 4-1 after winning four straight since an opening loss to Drexel. Princeton is at Rutgers Tuesday night.
Princeton is the only team to hold UVa under 10 goals during the last two seasons and the Tigers have now done it twice. That was little consolation after the way this one ended.
UVa called its final timeout with 31.8 seconds to play and gave it to Rubeor, who came from behind the net to beat Alex Hewit. Princeton then won the ensuing face-off and had one last desperation chance as time ran out but could not get off a shot.
Rubeor's goal capped a game in which neither team ever led by more than two, something Princeton did at 2-0, 4-2 and finally 5-3 on Peter Trombino's goal with 11:09 remaining in the first half as the Tigers scored five times in the first 19 minutes of the game against a team that had not allowed a goal in its previous 81 minutes heading in.
From there, though, Princeton would go 32:35 without another goal. UVa scored twice in the second quarter to tie it 5-5 at the half, and Jack Riley's goal with 9:27 to play in the third made it 6-5 UVa. Princeton, though, would throw a blanket on the Cavaliers after that, and Trombino finally tied with his third goal of the day with 8:24 to play in the fourth. In between, the teams went up and down the field, with each team making one big defensive play after another to keep the score where it was.
Princeton had three possessions after that but could not score. UVa took control for the final two minutes and, after spending both of its timeouts, got the ball to Rubeor for the game-winner.
"We have to look at this is a watershed game," said Tierney. "If Virginia and Hopkins are two of the best teams in the country, if not the two best teams, then we're not too far behind. We're notoriously slow starters. Now we have to turn things around now. Our reaction to this game will be telling."
Trombino was the only Tiger with more than one goal. Alex Haynie, Josh Lesko and Bob Schneider also scored for Princeton, who outshot UVa 37-33. Hewit and UVa's Kip Turner each made 10 saves.