Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Princeton Heads To Penn For Tuesday Night Men's Lacrosse Match-Up
April 10, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
The Princeton men's lacrosse team played perhaps its best game of the season this past Saturday, defeating Syracuse 12-8 in front of nearly 6,000 fans at Princeton Stadium. There was very little time to celebrate that win, though, as the Tigers have to jump into the heart of the Ivy League schedule.
Princeton, who has played one Ivy League game in the first six weeks of the season, now gets to play two in five days, beginning Tuesday night at Penn (7 pm, WPRB 103.3 FM) and continuing Saturday at home against Harvard.
The Ivy League race to date has been an interesting one. Cornell has won its three games by an average of 11.3 goals per game, but the other six league games have all been close. Princeton's only Ivy game was a two-goal win at Yale, and the other five games have all been one-goal games, with three going to overtime. Penn has played three of those one-goal league games, going 2-1, while also losing 20-5 to Cornell.
Princeton's shooting improved considerably in the Syracuse game. The Tigers brought a .252 shooting percentage for the year into that game and had a .172 shooting percentage in the 5-3 win at Yale a week earlier before going 12 for 36 (.333) against the Orange. The defense, which shut out Yale for the final 20 minutes and Syracuse for the first 23, has not allowed more than eight goals in a game this season and has not allowed a first-quarter goal in the last five games.
Princeton and Penn first played in 1928 and have played every year since except for 1943-46. Penn dominated the series in the 1980s, but the Tigers have won the last 17. It has not always been easy at Franklin Field during that run, including the 2005 game, when Princeton won 6-5 in double overtime.
Peter Trombino, who had a career-high five goals against Syracuse, needs one to join Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, B.J. Prager and Sean Hartofilis as the only players in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals.
Princeton vs. Penn
The site Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pa.
The date Tuesday, April 10, 2007 • 7:00 p.m.
Radio WPRB FM 103.3; www.goprincetontigers.com
The rankings Princeton: No. 5 (Nike Inside Lacrosse)/No. 6 (USILA); Penn: unranked
The records Princeton: 6-2 (1-0 Ivy League); Penn: 5-4 (2-2 Ivy League)
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (23rd season overall, 248-82); Penn: Brian Voelker (fifth season overall, 30-33)
The series Princeton leads 58-16
Last year Princeton defeated Penn 16-7 • April 11, 2006
The whammy – Princeton has defeated Penn 17 straight times.
History lesson – Penn defeated Princeton seven straight times (1983-89) prior to the start of Princeton's current 17-game winning streak in the series.
More history – Princeton and Penn first played in 1928. The two have met every year since except for 1943-46.
In case you forgot – Princeton defeated Penn in 2005 in double overtime in the last meeting between the schools at Franklin Field. Peter Trombino assisted on Jason Doneger's game-winner.
One and done – Princeton's current 17-game winning streak against Penn includes one-goal victories in 1993, 1999 and 2005, all at Franklin Field.
Great to be back – Princeton won the first of its six NCAA championships at Franklin Field in 1992.
First and zero – Princeton has not allowed a first-quarter goal in its last five games and has allowed three first-quarter goals all season (two by Virginia, one by Canisius).
Dee-fense, Dee-fense – Princeton has allowed an average of 5.82 goals per game, which would be the second lowest goals-against for a Princeton team in Bill Tierney's 20 years as head coach. The 2001 team allowed 5.80 goals per game.
D plus – Princeton has not allowed more than eight goals in any game this season.
Still more D – Princeton ranks third in Division I in scoring defense (5.82).
Last D – Princeton shut out Syracuse for the first 23:30 after shutting out Yale for the final 20:09 in its previous game, for a scoreless streak of 43:39.
Close ... and not so close – There have been nine Ivy League men's lacrosse games played so far. The five games that did not involve either Cornell or Princeton have all been decided by one goal, with one four-overtime game, one two-overtime game and one one-overtime game. The one Ivy game involving Princeton was decided by two goals. The three Ivy games involving Cornell have been decided by an average of 11.7 goals.
Career day – Peter Trombino had career-highs of five goals and seven points in Princeton's win over Syracuse.
More career – Mark Kovler had career-highs of four goals and five points in Princeton's win over Syracuse.
Seeing 20-20-20-20 – Peter Trombino needs one goal to become the fifth Princeton men's lacrosse player to have at least 20 goals in all four seasons. The other four: Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, B.J. Prager and Sean Hartofilis.
Aw, shoot – Princeton had 12 goals on 36 shots against Syracuse for a .333 shooting percentage; Princeton had five goals on 29 shots in its previous game against Yale for a .172 shooting percentage.
More shoot – Princeton had a .333 shooting percentage against Syracuse after entering the game with a .252 shooting percentage for the season to that point.
Last shoot – Princeton is averaging 40.0 shots per game; its opponents are averaging 31.1 shots per game.
On the attack – Princeton's close defense of Chris Peyser, Dan
Cocoziello and Zachary Jungers has allowed one first-half goal to an attackman in the last four games combined.
It had to be Hewit – Alex Hewit has a .682 save percentage in Princeton's four games that have been decided by one or two goals and a .467 save percentage in Princeton's three games that have been decided by seven goals or more.
More Hewit – Alex Hewit made nine saves, including three in the overtimes, in Princeton's 6-5 win over Penn in 2005 in his first game at Franklin Field.
Last Hewit – Alex Hewit has a career .6366 save percentage and a .6364 save percentage in two games against Penn.
Bouncing back – Mark Kovler has been held without a goal twice this year and has seven goals in the two games following. Kovler did not score against Virginia and scored three against Rutgers; Kovler did not score against Yale and scored four against Syracuse.
Face it – Princeton has won 51.6% of its face-offs; the last time Princeton won more than 50% for a full season was 2002.
Welcome to the Jungers – Zachary Jungers is one of 20 finalists for the Lowe's Senior Class Award for lacrosse, which will be awarded for excellence in athletics, academics, service and leadership.
Streaking – Tommy Davis has at least one point in 14 straight games.
Polling place – Princeton is ranked fifth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and sixth in the USILA coaches' poll.
I'm honored – Alex Hewit became the third Princeton goalie to play for Bill Tierney to win the Ensign C. Markland Kelly Award as the top goalie in Division I when he won the award last season, joining Scott Bacigalupo and Trevor Tierney.
Still more honored – Alex Hewit became the second player to play for Bill Tierney to be a first-team All-America without being first-team All-Ivy League (Scott Bacigalupo in 1994).
The All-American boys – Princeton has six players who have earned All-America honors in their career: Alex Hewit (2006 first-team), Dan Cocoziello (2006 second-team), Zachary Jungers (2006 thid-team), Peter Trombino (2006 honorable mention), Mark Kovler (2006 honorable mention) and Scott Sowanick (2005 honorable mention).
More All-Americas – Princeton's defense consists of two preseason first-team All-Americas (G Alex Hewit, D Dan Cocoziello) and one preseason second-team All-America (D Zachary Jungers).
Bling, bling – Princeton's four coaches have combined for 21 NCAA championship rings. Bill Tierney has six as Princeton head coach and two as an assistant coach at Johns Hopkins; David Metzbower and Bryce Chase have six each at Princeton; Greg Raymond has one as a player from Johns Hopkins.
Princeton Lacrosse '07 ... By The Numbers
1 first-half goals allowed by Princeton to an attackman in the last four games combined
3 first quarter goals allowed by Princeton in eight games; Princeton has scored 23 first quarter goals
4 goals by Mark Kovler against Syracuse for a career high; Kovler also had an assist for a career-high five points
5 consecutive wins for Princeton after a 1-2 start
5.82 average goals per game allowed by Princeton, which would be the second-lowest figure for a season in Bill Tierney's 20 years as Tiger head coach; the 2001 team allowed 5.80 goals per game
7 points by Peter Trombino (5G, 2A) against Syracuse for a career high
8 goals scored by Syracuse against Princeton, equalling Rutgers for the most allowed by the Tigers this season
12 goals by Princeton on 33 shots against Syracuse for a .333 shooting percentage; Princeton had a .252 shooting percentage for the season prior to that game
14 consecutive games with at least one point by Tommy Davis
17 consecutive wins by Princeton over Penn
19 goals by Peter Trombino, who needs one to become the fifth player in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals
20:09 time to end the Princeton-Yale game during which Yale did not score
23:30 time to begin the Princeton-Syracuse game during which Syracuse did not score
40.0 shots per game by Princeton, who averaged 35.2 per game a year ago and 32.4 shots per game in 2005
51 games played by Princeton since the start of the 2004 season; Scott Sowanick and Peter Trombino have started all 51
94 Ivy League wins by Bill Tierney as Princeton head coach, second-best all-time in league history behind Richie Moran of Cornell (123)
What Can You Say About ...
Nikhil Ashra #23
• has a .833 save percentage and 3.84 goals-against average in 31:17 at back-up goalie
• made seven saves while allowing two goals in 25:50 against Bellarmine
• made three saves without allowing a goal against Canisius
John Bennett #37
• in fourth season of splitting longstick midfield position
Alex Berg #13
• has won 47 of 81 face-offs
• won 7 of 9 against Bellarmine
• won 6 of 10 face-offs against Rutgers
• won 8 of 10 against Canisius
• won 6 of 12 against Virginia
• won 11 of 21 against Syracuse
• missed the Hofstra game due to injury suffered against RU
Michael Biles #6
• had a goal against Johns Hopkins and Canisius
• missed almost all of last year with injury
• played in 24 games first two years
Dan Cocoziello #1
• preseason first-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• second-team All-America a year ago
• named to Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list
• unanimous first-team All-Ivy League defenseman in 2006
• had three goals last season, one off school single-season record for a longstick, set by John Harrington in 1998
• became first defenseman to be named Ivy League Rookie of the Year when he won the award in 2005
• has started every game of his career
• had an assist against Rutgers
Trip Cowin #4
• had an assist against Canisius
• came back from off-season knee surgery
Tommy Davis #7
• leads team with 12 assists
• second on team with 21 points
• scored two goals and had one assist against Syracuse
• had a goal and assist against Yale; was only Princeton player with more than one point in that game
• scored two goals against Hofstra, including game-winner with eight seconds remaining, after missing Rutgers games due to injury
• had two goals and five assists against Canisius
• had five assists against Canisius after having one all last year
• scored two goals on two shots against Canisius
• had a goal and assist against Hopkins
• had an assist against UVa
• had an eight-game goal-scoring streak snapped in game against UVa
• had a goal and three assists against Bellarmine
• missed last six games of 2006 regular season with shoulder injury suffered against Syracuse; returned with five goals in two NCAA tournament games
• missed game against Rutgers due to injury
Mike DeSantis
• missed last two games due to injury
• has won 28 of 52 face-offs
• had a goal against Hofstra
• had first career goal against Rutgers
• goal came 15 seconds after an RU goal had made it a two-goal game in the fourth quarter
• also had an assist against Rutgers for first career two-point game
• has four career points, three of which have come in last two games
• won 7 of 11 face-offs against Hofstra
• won 6 of 8 face-offs against Hopkins
• won 7 of 10 face-offs against Canisius
• won exactly 50% of his draws as both a sophomore and junior
Rob Engelke #22
• has played in every game as fourth attackman
• had first career assist in win over Hofstra
• had a goal and two assists against Bellarmine
• scored three goals against Canisius
• named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after that game
• became second Princeton player in last 12 years to score three goals in first game of freshman year (Tommy Davis in 2006)
• scored three goals on three shots against Canisius
• scored more than 100 points as a junior and senior at Garden City High School
Mike Gaudio #8
• tore his ACL in second quarter of last year's game against Hopkins and missed remainder of season
• scored first goal since ACL injury with goal against Yale
• returned from injury to play against Canisius
• had 13-game goal scoring streak snapped against Canisius
• had an assist against Virginia
• honorable mention All-Ivy selection in 2005
• scored 16 goals in 2005, most by a sophomore midfielder at Princeton since Josh Sims in 1998
Zach Goldberg #33
• top shortstick defensive midfielder
• had a goal against Yale
• had a goal and assist against Rutgers
• had an assist against Canisius
• has seven career goals
Whitney Hayes #3
• has started 30 career games
• had a goal against Canisius
Alex Haynie #12
• scored three goals against Canisius to tie career high
• had a goal against Virginia
• had two assists against UVa and against Syracuse
• had an assist against Hofstra
• had two goals against Bellarmine
• active with Athletes In Action
Alex Hewit #15
• 2006 first-team All-America
• 2007 preseason first-team All-America
• named to Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list
• 2006 first-team All-America despite not being first-team All-Ivy League (Cornell's Matt McMonagle)
• career goals-against average of 6.34 is second all-time behind Navy's Matt Russell (5.86 from 2003-06)
• has .682 save percentage in four games decided by two goals or less (Hopkins, Virginia, Hofstra, Yale) and .467 save percentage in games decided by seven or more (Rutgers, Canisius, Bellarmine)
• named Ivy League Player of the Week after 14-save, three-goals-against, .824 save percentage performance against Yale
• made 12 saves against Syracuse
• made 11 saves while allowing four goals against Hofstra (.733 save percentage)
• made 10 saves against Virginia
• has made 30 saves and allowed 14 goals in last two games against UVa
• is the only goalie to hold Virginia under 10 goals during the last two seasons; he's done it twice
• made 10 saves against Johns Hopkins
• made 10 saves against Rutgers
• had an assist against Bellarmine for first career point
• had a career-low .300 save percentage (seven goals-against, three saves) against Canisius
• has a career .637 save percentage
Zachary Jungers #36
• third-team All-America a year ago
• preseason second-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• named to Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list
• honorable mention All-Ivy League
• started every game on close defense last two years after being top longstick midfielder first two years
• held Hofstra's Tommy Dooley without a goal or assist; Dooley was Hofstra's leading scorer and the 2006 Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year after scoring 38 goals
• held Colin Checcio, Rutgers' leading scorer, to one goal, which came with three minutes remaining
• one of 20 finalists for the Lowe's Senior Class Award for lacrosse, which will be awarded for excellence in athletics, academics, service and leadership
• had first career point with an assist against Bellarmine
• competed at tryouts for U.S. national team in 2005
Charlie Kolkin #43
• No. 1 longstick midfielder
• scored first goal of career in win over Rutgers
• has played in every game of career
• brother Tap plays for Yale
Mark Kovler #17
• second-team All-Ivy League in 2006
• preseason honorable mention All-America
• 2006 honorable mention All-America
• was sixth all-time among freshman goal scorers (third among midfielders) at Princeton with 18
• had a career-high four goals and a career-high five points against Syracuse
• had 10 straight-game goal-scoring streak snapped against UVa
• scored three goals against Rutgers and Bellarmine
• has three career three-goal games
• also had an assist against Bellarmine to tie career high of four points
• had a goal against Hofstra
• scored tying goal in fourth quarter against Johns Hopkins
• had two goals and an assist against Canisius
Josh Lesko #19
• preseason honorable mention All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• has one goal in each of first four games
• had a goal and assist against UVa
• had a goal against Hopkins and a goal against Canisius
• had a streak of nine straight games with at least one goal snapped against Hofstra; had exactly one goal in each of the nine games during streak
• had an assist against Hofstra and Bellarmine
• had a goal against Syracuse
Scott MacKenzie #2
• had first career point with an assist against Canisius
Chris Peyser #38
• starting on close defense
• played in every game last year as fourth defender
• shut out Hofstra's Ryan Miller in 5-4 Princeton win
• started one game a year ago
Brendan Reilly #29
• one of top shortstick defensive midfielders
• had first career assist in win over Syracuse
• played in a backup role last year
Bob Schneider #28
• had two goals against Rutgers
• had one goal against Hofstra, UVa, Bellarmine and Canisius
• missed Syracuse game due to injury
• has played attack and midfield in career
Greg Seaman #42
• scored first career goal in win over Canisius
• had a goal against Rutgers
• won 2 of 5 face-offs against Canisius
• son of Towson coach Tony Seaman
Tripp Shriner #10
• made first career start against Rutgers
• had a goal and assist against Rutgers
Scott Sowanick #5
• named to Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list
• preseason second-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• honorable mention All-Ivy League in 2006
• had a goal and assist against Hopkins
• had a goal and three assists against Rutgers
• assisted on all three of Mark Kovler's goals against Rutgers
• had an assist against Canisius and Syracuse
• has started every game of career
• has 107 career points
Derek Sudan #46
• veteran shortstick defensive midfielder
• scored first career goal in win over Yale
• had first career point with an assist against Rutgers
• has played in every game last two years
Peter Trombino #20
• named to Tewaaraton Trophy preseason watch list
• preseason second-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• one of two active players in Division I lacrosse who has scored an overtime goal in an NCAA tournament game, which he did against Maryland in 2004 quarterfinals (UMass's Jim Connolly is the other)
• only player in school history with at least 20 goals and at least 10 assists as a freshman, sophomore and junior
• needs one goal to become fifth player in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals (Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, B.J. Prager, Sean Hartofilis)
• leads team in goals (19) and points (23)
• had career-highs in goals (five) and points (seven) against Syracuse
• assisted on Tommy Davis' game-winning goal against Hofstra with eight seconds remaining
• had three goals against Virginia
• had two goals and an assist against Rutgers
• had a goal against Hopkins
• had a goal against Yale
• had three goals against Canisius
• had four goals against Bellarmine, all in the first half
• has 86 career goals and 132 career points