Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Travels To Dartmouth As Ivy Men's Lacrosse Race Enters Final Two Weekends
April 24, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
The Ivy League men's lacrosse race comes down to this: Princeton, Brown can win the championship outright, any combination of those two plus Cornell can finish as co-champions or all three can finish as tri-champions. And all of this will be resolved by the results of three games.
The first two are this Saturday, when Princeton is at Dartmouth (1, WPRB FM 103.3) and Brown is at Cornell. The third game is next Saturday, when Princeton is at Brown.
Princeton's win over Cornell last weekend left the Tigers and Brown at 4-0 in the league, with Cornell at 4-1. The other four teams have been mathematically eliminated.
Princeton can clinch at least a tie for the Ivy title with a win over Dartmouth, coupled with a Cornell win over Brown. Conversely, a Dartmouth win over Princeton would clinch at least a share of the Ivy title for the winner of the Cornell-Brown game. Wins by Princeton and Brown this weekend would set up a winner-take-all showdown for the Ivy championship next weekend in Providence; losses by both Princeton and Brown would set up a winner-take-some (along with Cornell) game next weekend.
All three still have a chance to win the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Princeton or Brown could do so simply by winning out; Cornell needs to win against Brown and have Princeton lose at least once to have a chance. The automatic bid cannot be won by any of the three teams this weekend.
As for the Princeton-Dartmouth matchup, keep these numbers in mind: Princeton is 7-0 when its opponent scores eight goals or fewer and 0-4 when it scores 10 or more. Dartmouth has scored 14.2 goals per game in its five wins and 8.0 goals per game in its seven losses.
Princeton vs. Dartmouth
The site Scully-Fahey Field ? Hanover, N.H.
The date Saturday, April 26, 2008 ? 1 p.m.
Radio WPRB FM 103.3; www.goprincetontigers.com
The rankings Princeton: No. 10 (USILA)/No. 11 (Inside Lacrosse)/Dartmouth: unranked
The records Princeton: 7-4 (4-0 Ivy League)/Dartmouth: 5-7 (1-3 Ivy League)
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (24th season overall, 259-88)/Dartmouth: Bill Wilson (fifth season overall, 34-33)
The series Princeton leads 48-7
Last meeting Princeton defeated Dartmouth 13-6 ? April 28, 2007
Down the stretch they come ? Princeton and Brown are tied for first in the Ivy League at 4-0, followed by Cornell at 4-1. The other four teams have been mathematically eliminated from the league race.
More stretch ? Princeton is at Dartmouth and Brown is at Cornell this week. Princeton is at Brown next week, while Cornell will finish its Ivy League schedule this week.
All of the above ? With two weeks remaining in the Ivy League race, all of the following outcomes are possible:
Princeton, Cornell and Brown finish in a three-way tie
Princeton and Brown finish in a two-way tie
Princeton and Cornell finish in a two-way tie
Brown and Cornell finish in a two-way tie
Princeton or Brown wins the title outright (Cornell cannot win an outright title)
What am I bid? ? In the event of a two-way tie for the league title, the winner of the head-to-head matchup between the two teams would get the Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the event of a three-way tie, all other league tiebreakers would be equal between the three teams, so a random draw would determine the automatic bid.
For what it's worth ? A Princeton win over Dartmouth and a Cornell win over Brown would clinch at least a share of the Ivy League championship for Princeton. A Dartmouth win over Princeton would clinch at least a share of the Ivy League championship for the Cornell-Brown winner. The automatic bid to the NCAA tournament cannot be won this weekend.
On the one hand ? Princeton defeated Dartmouth 13-6 a year ago.
On the other hand ? Dartmouth goalie Michael Novosel was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week a year ago after making 17 saves against Princeton.
I'm honored ? Charlie Kolkin, Princeton's longstick midfielder, was named the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Division I Player of the Week and the Ivy League Player of the Week after his performance in the Tigers' 11-7 win over Cornell. Kolkin was part of a defense that held the Big Red 4.5 goals below their season average and held them scoreless for a 31:26 stretch that saw Princeton score eight straight goals to take control. Kolkin spent much of the game matched against Cornell All-America middie John Glynn and held him without a point.
Injury update ? Mark Kovler, who had been Princeton's leading goal scorer after nine games, broke h is ankl in practice on April 10 and is out for the rest of the season. Rich Sgalardi suffered a sprained ankle in practice April 17 and missed the Cornell game; his status for the next two weeks is uncertain.
Sizzling ? Jack McBride has scored 14 goals in his last five games; he had five for his first six games prior to that.
More sizzling ? Jack McBride has scored at least two goals in each of his last five games.
Still more sizzling ? Bob Schneider scored seven goals in a 58:04 span beween the second quarter of Princeton's game against Harvard through the first quarter of its game against Cornell.
Last sizzling ? Peter Striebel had three goals and six assists for the first three years and seven games of his career; he has three goals and seven assists in the last four games.
Polling place ? Princeton went from 17th to 10th in the USILA coaches' poll and 19th to 11th in the Inside Lacrosse media poll after last week's win over Cornell.
D plus ? Princeton is allowing 6.6 goals per game in its wins.
D minus ? Princeton is allowing 12.3 goals per game in its losses.
More D ? Princeton is 7-0 when allowing fewer than 10 goals and 0-4 when allowing 10 goals or more.
Green D ? Dartmouth is allowing 8.8 goals per game in its five wins and 13.4 goals per game in its seven losses.
O plus ? Dartmouth is averaging 14.2 goals per game in its five wins and 8.0 goals per game in its seven losses.
Aw, shoot ? Princeton is averaging 31.4 shots per game and has not taken more than 38 shots in any game this year; Princeton averaged 39.0 shots per game a year ago .
Playing from ahead ? Princeton had the lead for the final 49:15 of last week's game against Cornell.
Playing from behind ? Princeton trailed for 55:47 in its win April 12 against Harvard; Princeton never led in the game until Bob Schneider's overtime goal 1:53 into overtime.
Putting together 60 minutes ? In a 60-minute stretch beginning with Jack McBride's late third quarter goal against Harvard and continuing into the third quarter against Cornell, Princeton scored 14 goals (which would match its season high) and took 44 shots (which would be six more than its season high).
Here comes the McBride ? Jack McBride ranks sixth in goals-scored by a freshman at Princeton. The leaders:
Player Freshman Year Goals Scored B.J. Prager 1999 25 Peter Trombino 2004 24 Jesse Hubbard 1995 23 Chris Massey 1995 21 Sean Hartofilis 2000 20 Jack McBride 2008 19
Lorne Smith 1996 19
Face it ? Alex Berg has won 62.5% or more or 28.6% or less of his face-offs in eight of 11 games, including eight of the last nine.
Quarterly report ? Alex Haynie's second quarter goal against Cornell was his eighth of the season and first that did not come in the fourth quarter.
Net results ? Alex Hewit has a career 6.93 goals-against average, the third-best in Division I history.
More net ? Alex Hewit is 3-0 with a .609 save percentage and an 8.53 goals-against average in three career starts against Dartmouth.
No place like home ? Princeton went 6-1 in seven home games this season. The Tigers are 1-3 away from Princeton; the win over Harvard two weeks ago is the only road win to date.
RPI-ing ? Princeton is ranked eighth in this week's RPI.
Tommy boy ? Tommy Davis leads Princeton in goals (20) and assists (14). The last player to lead Princeton in both in the same season was Justin Tortolani, who had 33 goals and 16 assists in 1990; Peter Trombino led the 2006 team in goals and tied for the team lead in assists.
T Ball ? Bill Tierney has won 101 Ivy League games as Princeton head coach and is one of two men's lacrosse coaches in league history to win 100 Ivy games. Cornell's Richie Moran (124) is the other.
More T ? Bill Tierney has won 101 Ivy League games as Princeton head coach. The other six current Ivy League men's lacrosse coaches have combined to win 78 Ivy League games.
Last T ? Princeton has won 13 Ivy League championships in Bill Tierney's first 20 years as Princeton head coach; Princeton did not win an Ivy League championship in the 25 seasons prior to his arrival.
Hot Coco ? Dan Cocoziello is the only current Princeton player to have started every game of his career.
In the nation's service ? Junior Brendan Reilly was named a Woodrow Wilson School “Scholar In The Nation's Service,” a distinction awarded to six Princeton University juinors each year.
Ivy League Standings
Ivy Overall
1. Brown 4 0 10 2
1. Princeton 4 0 7 4
3. Cornell 4 1 9 3
4. Penn 3 3 5 6
5. Dartmouth 1 3 5 7
6. Harvard 0 4 5 7
7. Yale 0 5 4 8
Saturday's Games
Princeton at Dartmouth, 1
Brown at Cornell, 1
Harvard at Yale, 1
Penn at Towson, 1
Friday, May 2
Cornell at Hobart, 7
Saturday, May 3
Princeton at Brown, 1
Dartmouth at Harvard, 1
Yale at Maryland, 1
Army at Penn, 4
What Can You Say About ...
Nikhil Ashra #23
? played 1:16 at end of Hofstra game, allowing one goal
? came off bench against Yale and allowed a goal while Alex Hewit was serving a penalty
? had an .867 save percentage and 3.38 goals-against average in 35:33 as back-up goalie a year ago
Alex Berg #13
? has won 115 of 220 face-offs (.550)
? has won better than 60% or fewer than 30% in eight of 11 games
? won 15 of 21 against Harvard
? won 8 of final 12 against Penn
? won 12 of 16 face-offs against Albany
? won 13 of 19 face-offs against Hofstra
? won 10 of 16 face-offs against Rutgers
? won 13 of 22 face-offs against Hopkins, mostly against All-America Stephen Peyser
? won 16 of 25 face-offs against Virginia
? won 10 of 19 face-offs against Canisius
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
? second-team All-Ivy League in 2007
? held Penn's Craig Andrzejewski scoreless, ending the Quakers' leading scorers streak of 25 straight games with at least one point; Cocoziello had been the last player to shut out Andrzejewski as well
? held Harvard's Dean Gibbons without a point; Gibbons had back-to-back four-point games prior and was the Crimson's leader in assists
? held Cornell All-America Max Siebald to one goal until Princeton had built an 8-2 third-quarter lead and shut out the Big Red for 31:26
? had an assist against Cornell
? scored a goal against Rutgers
? had an assist against Canisius
Tommy Davis #7
? leads team in goals (20), assists (14) and points (34)
? had three goals and an assist against Cornell
? had two goals and two assists against Harvard
? had a goal and three assists against Penn
? had two goals and an assist against Yale
? had two goals and an assist against Rutgers
? had three goals and three assists against Hofstra
? had two goals and an assist against Hopkins
? had a goal against Syracuse
? scored a career-high four goals against Canisius
? four goals against Canisius came on six shots
? had an assist against Canisius for a five-point game
? had a 24-game run with at least one point end against Albany
? led team in assists a year ago
Rob Engelke #22
? scored one goal against Virginia and Canisius
? had an assist against Yale and Penn
? plays on the extra-man unit
? had two goals in NCAA tournament a year ago against Georgetown
? had three goals in 2007 opener against Canisius and then scored one more during final 12 games of regular season before scoring twice in NCAA game
Mike Gaudio #8
? has played mostly shortstick defensive midfield this season
? tore his ACL in second quarter of 2006 game against Hopkins and missed remainder of season
? scored 16 goals as a sophomore
? scored three goals a year ago after return from injury
Zack Goldberg #33
? top shortstick defensive midfielder the past three years
? scored Princeton's first goal against Rutgers
? had a goal against Penn
? had an assist against Yale
? had two assists against Canisius
? has eight career goals
? has played in every game of his career
Alex Haynie #12
? has eight goals this year; seven have come in fourth quarter
? tied career high with three goals against Hofstra; it was his third career three-goal game
? three goals against Hofstra came in a 5:13 span
? had a goal and assist against Cornell
? scored one goal against Harvard, Hopkins, Virginia and Yale
? had an assist against Canisius and Syracuse
? has started 38 career games
? has a team-best .533 shooting percentage
? has 35 career goals on 82 career shots (.427)
? served four penalties as in-home in Penn game; did not commit any of the penalties himself
Alex Hewit #15
? 2006 first-team All-America
? 2007 second-team All-America
? 2007, 2008 preseason first-team All-America
? has made 43 career starts and allowed seven or fewer goals in 26 of them
? on preseason Tewaaraton watch list
? second-team All-Ivy League in 2007
? career .609 save percentage
? also has a career .609 save percentage against Dartmouth in three starts
? career save percentage of .645 in games decided by one or two goals
? career 6.93 goals-against average ranks third all-time, behind Navy's Matt Russell (5.86) and Princeton's Trevor Tierney (6.65)
? stopped point-blank shot by Harvard's Zach Widbin in overtime to keep game going; Princeton scored on following possession
? made 14 saves while allowing five goals against Penn
? defeated Penn four times in his career, becoming second Princeton goalie to defeat a team four times; Scott Bacigalupo did so against five teams
? named Ivy League Player of the Week after wins over Rutgers and Yale
? made 10 saves while allowing six goals in win over Rutgers; made save from point-blank range with six seconds remaing to preserve one-goal win
? made 17 saves while allowing seven goals in win over Yale
? finished career with .705 save percentage against Yale
? was Ivy Player of the Week after last two games against Yale
? allowed double figures in goals in back-to-back games for first time in his career when he did so against Hopkins and UVa
? had a .739 save percentage against Canisius (six goals against, 17 saves)
? made 12 saves against Hopkins
Jeremy Hirsch #37
? started every game of this season on defense
? played in 13 of 14 games a year ago as fourth defenseman
Charlie Kolkin #43
? No. 1 longstick midfielder
? 2007 honorable mention All-Ivy League
? 2008 preseason All-America
? named Nike/Inside Lacrosse Division I Player of the Week after Princeton's win over Cornell
? also named Ivy League Player of the Week after Cornell game
? led a defense that held Cornell scoreless for 31:27
? held Cornell All-America John Glynn without a point
? had an assist against Penn
? has played in every game of career
Mark Kovler #17
? 2007 third-team All-America
? 2007 first-team All-Ivy League
? 2008 preseason second-team All-Ivy League
? suffered broken ankle in practice on April 10 and will miss the rest of the season
? has at least one goal in 14 straight games, longest currentstreak by a Princeton player
? led team with 16 goals at time of injury
? tied career high with four goals against Virginia
? had two goals against Hofstra and Yale
? had a goal and two assists against Hopkins
? had a goal against Syracuse and Penn
? scored twice against Canisius
? had one goal against Rutgers
? total of 23 goals a year ago were most by a sophomore midfielder at Princeton since Josh Sims had 32 in 1998
? third Princeton midfielder to reach 20 for a season this decade (Brad Dumont 22 in 2002; Drew Casino 24 in 2004)
Josh Lesko #19
? missed games against Yale and Syracuse due to injury
? has started 18 career games
? had an assist against Virginia
? had an assist against Hofstra
? started first 12 games a year ago before missing season finale against Brown due to injury
Scott MacKenzie #2
? had two assists against Virginia
? had a goal and two assists against Yale
? had a goal against Penn
? had an assist against Albany and Cornell
? had a goal against Hofstra
? had a goal and two assists against Canisius after having two points all freshman year
? has started both games on attack
Chris McBride #2
? scored first collegiate goal against Virginia with Princeton's first goal of game
? scored team's first goal against Penn
? had an assist against COrnell
? scored 60 goals a year ago at Delbarton School
? had 170 career points in high school
Jack McBride #2
? has at least two goals in each of his last five games
? has 14 goals in last five games after having five in first six
? set Princeton freshman record with six goals against Penn, breaking the record of five set by Sean Hartofilis against Virgnia in the 2000 NCAA semifinal
? scored six goals on six shots against Penn
? has 19 goals, sixth-best by a Princeton freshman; freshman record of 25 is held by B.J. Prager
? scored two goals against Cornell
? scored two goals against Harvard
? scored on his first two shots against Harvard, giving him goals on eight straight shots before one was saved in fourth quarter
? named Ivy League Rookie of the Week after games against Penn and Harvard
? had two goals against Syracuse
? had first career two-goal game in win over Yale
? had a goal against Virginia and Hofstra and a goal and assist against Hopkins
? came back with a goal against Rutgers after getting shut out against Albany
? had first two collegiate points with a goal and assist against Canisius
? had 49 goals as a high school senior and 58 goals junior year
Chris Peyser #38
? 2008 preseason third-team All-America
? 2007 honorable mention All-Ivy League
? started every game last two seasons on defense
? played in every game freshman year as fourth defender
Brendan Reilly #29
? one of top shortstick defensive midfielders
? scored a goal against Hopkins for the second goal of his career (first was last year against Dartmouth)
? one of six Princeton juniors to be named a Woodrow Wilson Schoool Scholar in the Nation's Service
Connor Reilly #21
? scored first collegiate goal in win over Canisius
? younger brother of Brendan Reilly
? nationally ranked junior squash player
Bob Schneider #28
? team tri-captain
? had three goals against Cornell
? had career-highs with four goals and five points against Harvard
? tied Harvard game with goal with 1:20 remaining in regulation and won it with goal 1:53 into overtime
? named Ivy League Player of the Week after Harvard game
? scored seven goals in a 58:04 span between second quarter of Harvard game and first quarter of Cornell game
? had a goal against Syracuse
? had two goals and an assist against Yale
? had two goals against Hopkins
? scored twice against Virginia
? had a goal and assist against Hofstra
? had a goal against Rutgers
? has started every game this season
Greg Seaman #42
? had a goal against Hopkins
? scored two goals against Canisius
? moved from midfield to attack for this season
? son of Towson coach Tony Seaman
Rich Sgalardi #18
? sprained ankle in practice before Cornell game and did not play
? had career-high three assists against Harvard, including assists on tying goal with 1:20 left in regulation and game-winner in overtime
? had an assist against Hopkins, Virginia, Hofstra and Rutgers
? had a goal against Syracuse
? had a goal against Penn
? had a goal against Yale
? had a goal against Canisius
Peter Striebel #9
? had career-high three assists against Harvard, including two in the fourth quarter
? had career-high two goals and an assist against Cornell
? had an assist against Rutgers in first game back after missing three games due to rib injury
? had two assists against Syracuse
? had a goal and assist against Penn
? missed games against Virginia, Hofstra and Albany due to injury
? had an assist against Hopkins and Canisius
? younger brother of former Tiger All-America Matt Striebel
Career scoring
Player G-A-Pts
7 Tommy Davis 50-31-81
17 Mark Kovler 57-15-72
12 Alex Haynie 34-18-52
28 Bob Schneider 32-7-39
19 Josh Lesko 17-11-28
8 Mike Gaudio 22-5-27
14 Jack McBride 17-2-19
33 Zack Goldberg 9-10-19
18 Rich Sgalardi 7-11-18
22 Rob Engelke 9-5-14
9 Pete Striebel 4-12-16
2 Scott MacKenzie 4-8-12
1 Dan Cocoziello 4-4-8
42 Greg Seaman 4-0-4
11 Ryan Morrell 2-1-3
29 Brendan Reilly 2-0-2
43 Charlie Kolkin 1-1-2
3 Chris McBride 2-0-2
21 Connor Reilly 1-0-1
26 Jeff Izant 1-0-1
38 Chris Peyser 0-1-1
25 Jim Weiss 1-0-1