Princeton University Athletics
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Princeton Heads To Brown For Ivy League "Co-Championship" Game
April 30, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
Call it the Ivy League men's lacrosse Co-Championship Game. Don't like that one? How about a game of winner-take-some?
Whatever you call it, there will be plenty on the line when Princeton travels to Brown Saturday afternoon (1, WPRB FM 103.3).
Princeton and Brown are both 4-1 in the league, and the winner of the game is guaranteed a share of the Ivy League championship with Cornell, who has already completed its league schedule at 5-1.
As important as that is the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which will go to Princeton if it defeats Brown and to Cornell if Brown defeats Princeton. The first tiebreaker for the automatic bid is head-to-head matchup, and Princeton has already defeated Cornell, while Cornell has defeated Brown.
Princeton is coming off an 11-9 loss at Dartmouth last weekend, while Brown lost 11-7 to Cornell. Princeton is looking to reverse a season-long trend of falling behind on the road, a habit that has resulted in the Tigers' having trailed for 272:11 of a possible 301:53 in its first five road games this season. Princeton has also never led at any point of regulation in any of those five games, with only a win in overtime against Harvard.
Brown, ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense at 6.9 goals allowed per game, and Princeton are no strangers to close games. Princeton has defeated Brown by a single goal each of the last two years, and 13 of the last 19 Princeton-Brown games have been decided by three goals or fewer. Even during Princeton's perfect 1997 season, the Tigers only defeated Brown by three; the average margin of victory in Princeton's other five Ivy games that year was 12.4 goals.
Princeton vs. Brown
The site Stevenson Field ? Providence, R.I.
The date Saturday, May 3, 2008 ? 1 p.m.
Radio WPRB FM 103.3; www.goprincetontigers.com
The rankings Princeton: No. 14 (USILA)/No. 13 (Inside Lacrosse)/Brown: No. 14 (USILA)/No. 19 (Inside Lacrosse)
The records Princeton: 7-5 (4-1 Ivy League)/Brown: 10-3 (4-1 Ivy League)
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (24th season overall, 259-89)/Brown: Lars Tiffany (third season overall, 35-23)
The series Princeton leads 25-20
Last meeting Princeton defeated Brown 8-7 ? May 5, 2007
The Ivy League Co-Championship Game ? The winner of the Princeton-Brown game will finish as Ivy League co-champion with Cornell.
What am I bid? ? The Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament will go to Cornell (if Brown beats Princeton) or Princeton (if Princeton beats Brown).
Just to clear things up ? The Ivy League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament is decided by head-to-head matchup in the case of a two-way tie. Since Princeton defeated Cornell, Princeton would get the bid in the event that the two are co-champions. Since Cornell defeated Brown, Cornell would get the bid in the event that those two are co-champions. Had there been a three-way tie, the first tiebreaker would still have been head-to-head among the three, followed by several other tiebreakers based upon results against the remaining teams in order of finish. If none of those served to break the tie, then a random draw would have determined the bid.
More clarity ? The tiebreaking procedures determine only the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The winner of the Princeton-Brown game and Cornell will be considered Ivy League co-champions.
History lesson ? Cornell is assured of at least a share of the Ivy League championship, which will be the 23rd in Big Red history. Princeton has already won 23 Ivy League championships; a win over Brown would give Princeton its 24th league title. Brown, with six, is in third place all-time.
The whammy ? Princeton has defeated Brown 14 straight times.
Close shaves ? Of Princeton's 14 wins against Brown during its current streak, nine have been by three goals or fewer.
More shaves ? Princeton has defeated Brown by one goal each of the last two years.
No place like road ? Princeton is 6-1 at home and 1-4 away this season.
Another road ? Princeton is 23-6 at home and 10-15 away since the start of the 2005 season.
More road ? Princeton has not had the lead at any point of the first, second, third or fourth quarter of any game away from home this season; Princeton's only lead on the road came at Harvard, when Princeton won in overtime.
Still more road ? Princeton has played five away games this season. The Tigers have never led at any point of those five games other than at the very end of the Harvard game in
overtime, have been tied for 29:42 and have trailed for 272:11.
Do the math ? Princeton is 7-0 this season when allowing fewer than 10 goals and 0-5 when allowing 10 or more.
History lesson ? A Princeton win over Brown would give Princeton a share of the Ivy title; a loss to Brown would leave Princeton in third place in the league. Princeton has not finished below second in the Ivy League since 1990.
Tommy boy ? Tommy Davis leads Princeton in goals (21) and assists (16). 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.
Injury update ? Mark Kovler, who had been Princeton's leading goal scorer after nine games, broke his ankle 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 and Dartmouth games; his status for the rest of the season is uncertain.
Senior citizen ? Peter Striebel has four goals and nine assists in his last five games after having three goals and six assists for his first three seasons and seven games.
More senior ? Bob Schneider has 18 goals this season after having 19 for his first three seasons combined.
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
More McBride ? Jack McBride was shut out against Dartmouth last week. Prior to that, he had scored 14 goals in the previous five games.
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.
Aw, shoot ? Princeton scored nine goals on 43 shots against Dartmouth last week; Dartmouth scored 11 goals on 23 shots against Princeton.
More shoot ? Princeton took a season-high 43 shots against Dartmouth.
Last shoot ? Princeton is averaging 32.3 shots per game; Princeton averaged 39.0 shots per game a year ago .
Face it ? Alex Berg has won 62.5% or more or 28.6% or less of his face-offs in eight of 12 games, including eight of the last 10.
Quarterly report ? Alex Haynie has scored nine goals this season; eight of them have come in the fourth quarter.
Half and half ? Princeton has been outscored 63-54 in the first half and has outscored its opponents 58-43 after halftime.
Net results ? Alex Hewit has a career 7.02 goals-against average, the third-best in Division I history.
No Joshing ? Josh Lesko scored two goals against Dartmouth last week after not scoring any goals in the first 11 games.
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 80 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.
More Coco ? Dan Cocoziello has five career goals; the record for goals by a Princeton longstick is eight, set by John Harrington '99.
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. Cornell 5 1 10 3
2. Brown 4 1 10 3
2. Princeton 4 1 7 5
4. Penn 3 3 5 7
5. Dartmouth 2 3 6 7
6. Harvard 1 4 6 7
7. Yale 0 6 4 9
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 125 of 243 face-offs (.514)
? has won better than 60% or fewer than 30% in eight of 12 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 and Dartmouth
? had an assist against Canisius
Tommy Davis #7
? leads team in goals (21), assists (16) and points (37)
? trying to become the first player since Justin Tortolani in 1990 to lead the team in goals and assists in same season (Peter Trombino led the team in goals and tied for team lead in assists in 2006)
? 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 a goal and two assists against Dartmouth
? 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 nine goals this year; eight 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 Dartmouth, Harvard, Hopkins, Virginia and Yale
? had an assist against Canisius and Syracuse
? has started 39 career games
? has a team-best .529 shooting percentage
? has 36 career goals on 84 career shots (.429)
? 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 .604 save percentage
? career save percentage of .632 in games decided by one or two goals
? career 7.02 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 19 career games
? scored two goals against Dartmouth
? 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 and Dartmouth
? scored 60 goals a year ago at Delbarton School
? had 170 career points in high school
Jack McBride #2
? 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
? scored goal to tie Dartmouth game at 9-9 in fourth quarter
? younger brother of Brendan Reilly
? nationally ranked junior squash player
Bob Schneider #28
? team tri-captain
? has 18 goals this season after having 19 for his first three years combined
? 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 and Dartmouth
? 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 in that game or against Dartmouth
? 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 a goal and two assists against Dartmouth
? has tied his career high of three points in each of last three games
? had three goals and six assists for his career for first three years and seven games; has four goals and nine assists in last five games
? 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