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Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Hosts Harvard As Longtime Men's Lacrosse Rivals Meet For 73rd Time
April 12, 2007 | Men's Lacrosse
The momentum was all with Harvard, and then came the second goal, called "rather doubtful" by one sportswriter of the day. The goal stood, though, and Harvard tacked on one more to put it completely out of reach.
The date was Nov. 6, 1881. It was 12 years to the day that Princeton and Rutgers played the first intercollegiate football game. This time, the sport was lacrosse, and the opponent was Harvard, who played Princeton to complete a tournament at Columbia.
It was the first meeting between the Crimson and the Tigers. The 73rd meeting between the schools comes up Saturday, when Harvard travels to Class of 1952 Stadium to take on Princeton (3 pm, WPRB FM 103.3).
Princeton and Harvard met regularly through the 1800s until the Tigers dropped the sport from 1894-1920. Harvard reappeared on the schedule until 1926, when the schools discontinued competition in all sports due to a football controversy. The teams then played again from 1933 through 1936 and then did not play against until 1953. They have met every year since.
This meeting is big for both. Harvard, off its 9-6 win over Brown Tuesday night in the first night lacrose game in Harvard Stadium history, is 2-1 in the Ivy League. Princeton is 2-0 in the league, along with 3-0 Cornell the only unbeatens in the league race.
Princeton knocked off Penn 10-5 Tuesday night, shutting out the Quakers for 37:40 after falling into a quick 2-0 hole. By the time Penn scored again, Princeton led 8-2.
Princeton leads the all-time series against Harvard 52-19-1 and has won the last 16 meetings. Princeton defeated Harvard 9-7 in Cambridge a year ago as nine different Tigers scored once each.
Princeton vs. Harvard
The site Class of 1952 Stadium • Princeton, N.J.
The date Saturday, April 14, 2007 • 3:00 p.m.
Radio WPRB FM 103.3; www.goprincetontigers.com
The rankings Princeton: No. 5 (Nike Inside Lacrosse)/No. 6 (USILA); Harvard: unranked
The records Princeton: 7-2 (2-0 Ivy League); Harvard: 3-5 (2-1 Ivy League)
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (23rd season overall, 249-82); Harvard: Scott Anderson (20th season overall, 139-132)
The series Princeton leads 52-19-1
Last year Princeton defeated Harvard 9-7 • April 11, 2006
Those were the days – Princeton and Harvard first met in lacrosse on Nov. 6, 1881, in a game played as part of a one-day tournament at Columbia. Princeton and Harvard played on May 26, 1882 in Princeton and May 12, 1883 in Cambidge; Harvard won all three.
History lesson – Princeton has defeated Harvard 16 straight times.
Two for Tuesday – Princeton and Harvard both played and won Ivy League games Tuesday night. Princeton defeated Penn 10-5; Harvard defeated Brown 9-6.
A league of their own – Princeton has won 13 Ivy League championships in Bill Tierney's 19 years as head coach.
More league – Cornell (3-0) and Princeton (2-0) are the only undefeated teams in the Ivy League. Harvard (2-1) is in third place.
Surging – Princeton has won six straight games.
Aw, shoot – Princeton has scored 22 goals on its last 65 shots in wins over Syracuse and Penn for a .338 shooting percentage. Princeton was at .252 for the season prior to that, including a .172 (5 for 29) performance against Yale.
D plus – Princeton has allowed 5.78 goals per game, which would be the lowest single-season total in Bill Tierney's tenure as head coach. The lowest to date is the 5.80 goals per game allowed by the 2001 NCAA champsionship team.
More D – No team has scored more than eight goals against Princeton this season.
Seeing 20-20-20-20 – Peter Trombino scored two goals against Penn Tuesday night to become the fifth player in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals. The other four: Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, B.J. Prager, Sean Hartofilis.
Face it – Harvard's John Henry Flood ranks fifth in Division I in face-off percentage (.624). Princeton's Alex Berg is 17th (.566).
On the one hand ... – Princeton allowed two goals in the first 4:14 against Penn Tuesday night.
... on the other hand – Princeton did not allow another goal for the next 37:40, by which time it had scored eight straight.
First of all – Princeton had not allowed a first quarter goal in five games prior to the Penn game and then allowed two goals in the first 4:14.
More first – Princeton has allowed five first quarter goals all season.
Start slow – Princeton did not score in the first 21:19 of its game against Penn and then scored four goals in the last eight minutes of the first half and five more in the third quarter.
Polling place – Princeton is ranked fifth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and sixth in the USILA coaches' poll.
Bouncing back – When Mark Kovler did not score against Penn Tuesday night, it marked the third time this year he was held without a goal. Kovler has seven goals total in the games after being shut out (three vs. Rutgers, four vs. Syracuse) prior to this game.
Two for the show – Princeton ranks second nationally in scoring defense (5.78 goals per game), trailing only Army (5.5).
Hot Coco – Dan Cocoziello held Penn's Craig Andrzejewski, the reigning Ivy League Player of the Week, to no goals and only one shot in Princeton's 10-5 win Tuesday night. Andrzejewski entered the game with 19 goals.
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 .463 save percentage in Princeton's four games that have been decided by five goals or more.
Face it – Princeton has won 51.1% 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 15 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
0 Ivy League losses for Princeton and Cornell
1 Ivy League losses for Harvard
2 Princeton's rank nationally in scoring defense (5.78 per game), trailing only Army (5.5)
3 goals by Scott Sowanick against Penn; he had three for the season prior to that
4:14 time to start Tuesday night's game in which Penn scored twice; Princeton had not allowed a first quarter goal in five games prior to that
5 players in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals (Peter Trombino, Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, Sean Hartofilis, B.J. Prager)
5.78 average goals per game allowed by Princeton, which would be the lowest figure for a season in Bill Tierney's 20 years as Tiger head coach
6 consecutive wins for Princeton after a 1-2 start
8 consecutive goals scored by Princeton after Penn had taken a 2-0 lead
9 Princeton players who scored one goal each in a 9-7 win over Harvard a year ago
12 goals for Tommy Davis on 29 shots, for a .414 shooting percentage
15 consecutive games with at least one point by Tommy Davis
16 consecutive wins by Princeton over Harvard
22 goals by Princeton on 65 shots against Syracuse and Penn combined for a .338 shooting percentage; Princeton had a .252 shooting percentage for the season prior to Syracuse
37:40 scoreless stretch for Penn after scoring twice in the first 4:14 Tuesday night
52 games played by Princeton since the start of the 2004 season; Scott Sowanick and Peter Trombino have started all 52
95 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 56 of 99 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
• held Penn's leading scorer, Craig Andrzejewski, without a goal and with only one shot
• 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 24 points
• has a 15-game streak with at least one point
• scored two goals and had one assist against Syracuse
• scored three goals (on four shots) against Penn
• 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
• 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 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 three 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
• 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 assists against Virginia and Penn
• 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 Penn
• had a goal against Canisius
Alex Haynie #12
• scored three goals against Canisius to tie career high
• had a goal and assist against Penn
• 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 6.29 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 .463 save percentage in four games decided by five or more (Penn, 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, Penn and 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 last two games 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
• had an assist against Penn
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 three goals against Penn
• 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 110 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
• one of five players in school history with four seasons of at least 20 goals (Jesse Hubbard, Chris Massey, B.J. Prager, Sean Hartofilis)
• leads team in goals (21) and points (27)
• had career-highs in goals (five) and points (seven) against Syracuse
• had two goals and two assists against Penn
• 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 89 career goals and 136 career points