Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
No. 5 Princeton Hosts No. 17 Albany In Friday Afternoon Alternative To NCAA Hoops
March 18, 2009 | Men's Lacrosse
The Princeton men's lacrosse team meets Albany for the second straight regular season and third time overall. While it's not always easy to make predictions, there are two that can be made about this coming game that won't exactly be considered going out on a limb:
* it will be warmer than last year's game
* Princeton's second goal will come sooner in this game than it did a year ago
Albany defeated Princeton 10-2 in 2008 in a game played in temperatures in the 20s with 40 mile per hour winds that dropped the wind chill to zero. The Great Danes snapped a 1-1 first quarter tie by scoring the next nine goals of the game; Princeton scored its second goal with 8.6 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.
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Princeton and Albany have met twice. The Tigers won the first meeting, a 16-10 victory in the opening round of the 2003 NCAA tournament at Class of 1952 Stadium before Albany's win a year ago.
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Princeton and Albany were a combined 2-7 prior to their meeting a year ago; the two are a combined 8-2 (4-1 each) heading into this year's game.
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Princeton attempted three shots in the second quarter and one shot in the third quarter of its game against Albany a year ago. The Great Danes held Princeton to a scoreless stretch of 49:14 after Mark Kovler scored Princeton's first goal in the first quarter and final goal with 8.6 seconds to play.
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How important a stat is shooting percentage? Usually a percentage of better than .300 is considered to be excellent; Princeton has a team .238 shooting percentage. The lowest shooting percentage for a full season by any of Bill Tierney's first 21 teams at Princeton was .253 in 2007.
On the other hand, Princeton averages 11.2 goals per game on a .238 shooting percentage; Princeton averaged 9.0 goals per game on a team .281 shooting percentage a year ago.
Princeton's highest single-game shooting percentage this year has been .275 against Johns Hopkins. Princeton has been above .250 in a game twice, against Hopkins and Manhattan (.263).
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On the other hand, Albany is a team with an outstanding shooting pecentage. The Great Danes have scored 57 goals on 159 shost (.358). Princeton has scored one fewer goal (56) and has taken 76 more shots (235).
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For this Princeton team, the quantity of shots taken is more important than shooting percentage. Princeton is averaging 47 shots per game. The 1993 team averaged 46.3 shots per game, the most by a Bill Tierney-coached Princeton team. The highest per game for a full season this decade is 39.3 in 2003. Princeton has taken more than 50 shots three times in its first five games; Princeton did not attempt more than 50 shots in any game this decade prior to the start of this season.
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Princeton's average of 47 shots is a little misleading, as theTigers haven't had a game yet where their shot total has been in the 40s. Princeton has attempted between 34 or fewer or 51 or more shots through five games.
Princeton has scored 14 goals or more or seven goals or fewer through five games as well. Princeton is averaging 11.2 goals per game, up from 9.0 a year ago; Princeton has not averaged double figures for a full season since 2004.
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As the current decade has eight regular-season games plus whatever possible postseason games might be earned remaining, the opportunity to compare this one to the one before it is pretty much here.
Princeton has scored 1,413 goals in 135 games to this point this decade, an average of 10.5 goals per game. Princeton scored 1,943 goals in the 1990s, an average of 13.0 per game.
Princeton has taken 4,872 shots this decade; Princeton took 6,452 shots in the 1990s. Princeton has averaged 36.1 shots per game this decade after averaging 43.3 shots per game last decade.
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Princeton allowed two third-quarter goals in its first four games combined and then allowed two goals in the first 5:50 of the third quarter against Hofstra as the Pride built a 7-1 lead.
Princeton rallied to cut it to two at 7-5 with 11:22 to play, but Hofstra scored seven seconds later after winning the face-off. Princeton cut it to 8-6 and had an extra-man opportunity later in the quarter but turned the ball over.
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Chad Wiedmaier has been named the fifth-best defenseman in Division I by Inside Lacrosse. The magazine ranked the top seven players at goalie, defense, midfield and attack; Wiedmaier was the only freshman among the 28 players listed
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Mark Kovler had scored at least one goal (and had at least one point) in 18 consecutive games before being shut out against Hofstra. The longest current streak of consecutive games with at least one point by a Princeton player is seven by Chris McBride, dating to the final two games of last year.
McBride is one of three Princeton players with at least one point in every game this season and the only one with at least one goal in every game this season.
Rich Sgalardi and Scott MacKenzie also have at least one point in every game this season; Jack McBride has at least one goal in the four games he's played, but he did not play against Manhattan.
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Mark Kovler and Tommy Davis are tied for 25th all-time in goals scored at Princeton with 63 apiece. They need two to tie Chris McHugh '91 for 24th and five to tie Andy Moe '92 for 23rd.
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Tyler Fiorito has started all five games in goal for Princeton. He played the entire game against Johns Hopkins and UMBC, played the first half only against Canisius and Hofstra and played the first eight minute against Manhattan.
Nikhil Ashra has played the entire second half against Canisius and Hofstra and played 50 minutes against Manhattan.
Fiorito has a 6.50 goals-against and .618 save percentage in the two games he's played all 60 minutes; he has a 7.94 goals-against and .571 save percentage in the other three.
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Albany's Brian Caufield was the Inside Lacrosse Division I Player of the Week this past week after having seven goals and six assists in two wins a week ago.
This will be the second time that Princeton has faced the current IL Player of the Week, as UMBC's Kyle Wimer won the award the week before the Tigers played the Retrievers. Princeton then held Wimer to one goal (which came in the final minute) on six shots; Wimer also picked up three penalties.
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Princeton has scored 14 or more goals three times in its first five games. The last time Princeton did so was in 1994.
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Brendan Reilly is one of 30 nominees for the lowe's Senior Class Award, which recognizes seniors for their athetlic, academic and leadership abilities. The list of 10 finalists will be selected by the end of March, and the winner will be announcd at the Final Four.
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Scott MacKenzie had four goals for his career prior to this season; he has six goals in the first five games this year.
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The current issue of “The New Yorker” magazine features a story on the sport of lacrosse written by staff writer and Princeton men's lacrosse Academic Athletic Fellow John McPhee. The story speaks about lacrosse in general and about Princetons' trip to Spain and Ireland last June.
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Princeton vs. Albany
The site Class of 1952 Stadium ? Princeton, N.J.
The date Friday, March 20, 2009 ? 3 p.m.
Radio/TV WPRB FM 103.3; www.goprincetontigers.com/ESPNU
The rankings Princeton: No. 5 (USILA)/No. 5 (Inside Lacrosse); Albany: No. 17 (USILA)/No. 17 (Inside Lacrosse)
The records Princeton: 4-1; Albany: 4-1
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (25th season overall, 263-91); Albany: Scott Marr (ninth season overall, 77-52)
The series Tied, 1-1
Last meeting Albany defeated Princeton 10-2 ? March 21, 2008
What Can You Say About ...
Nikhil Ashra #23
? played 49:32 against Manhattan, making four saves while allowing five goals
? played second half against Canisius, allowing three goals and making five saves
? played second half against Hofstra
? has a career .600 save percentage
? played 6:19 a year ago and 35:33 as a freshman as Alex Hewit's backup
Paul Barnes #31
? has won 51 of 85 face-offs (.600) to rank seventh in Division I
? Ivy League Co-Player of the Week after winning 20 of 25 face-offs (80%) against UMBC and Manhattan
? won 13 of 15 face-offs against UMBC, including the first 11
? won face-off with 57 seconds remaining after UMBC had scored to make it 6-5
? scored two goals against Johns Hopkins after face-off wins
? became first Princeton face-off man to score a goal in a game since Drew Casino in 2004
? won 10 of 20 face-offs against Hopkins
? won 13 of 22 face-offs against Canisius
? won 7 of 10 face-offs against Manhattan
Alex Capretta #1
? attackman currently playing on second midfield
John Cunningham #3
? scored goal against Johns Hopkins
? goal against Hopkins was assisted by Chad Wiedmaier and became first longstick-to-longstick goal since Bill Tierney has been Princeton head coach
? played against Canisius as No. 1 longstick midfield in place of Charlie Kolkin, who was out with injury
? leads team with six caused turnovers
? had four caused turnovers and three ground balls against
Canisius
Jimmy Davis #5
? has played in every game as third shortstick defensive midfielder
? caused two turnovers against Hofstra
? missed most of first two years due to injury
Tommy Davis #7
? has 103 career points, tied for 20th all-time at Princeton
? needs seven to tie Jason Doneger '05 for 19th
? had career-high five goals and tied career high with seven points gainst Manhattan
? had three goals against Canisius
? had two assists against Hopkins
? led team in goals and assists last year, becoming 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)
? has led team in assists each of the last two years
Long Ellis #14
? is playing as fourth defenseman
? had game-winning goal in one game and assisted on game-winning goal in other game against English national team during team's trip to Spain and Ireland last June
Rob Engelke #22
? tied career high with three goals and set career high with five points against Manhattan
? made first career start in win over Manhattan
? scored goal against Hopkins
? scored two goals against Canisius
Tyler Fiorito #6
? ranks sixth in Division I in goals-against (7.02) and 11th in save percentage (.600)
? Ivy League Rookie of the Week after wins over UMBC and Manhattan
? made 10 saves while allowing five goals against UMBC
? has a .618 save percentage
? played entire game against Hopkins, making 11 saves for first career double-figure save total
? made five second quarter saves against Hopkins as Princeton built a 9-1 lead
? started and played first half against Canisius
? made four saves and allowed three goals
? started and played first eight minutes against Manhattan, allowing one goal and making two saves
? was ranked second by Inside Lacrosse magazine among incoming freshman
? member of United States U19 team that won World Championship last summer in Vancouver
Jeremy Hirsch #37
? started 18 straight games on defense
? started every game last season on defense
? played in 13 of 14 games as freshman as fourth defenseman
Charlie Kolkin #43
? No. 1 longstick midfielder
? 2009 preseason All-America
? returned to lineup after missing game against Canisius with a minor injury; it was first game missed in his career
? named Nike/Inside Lacrosse Division I Player of the Week after Princeton's win over Cornell last year
? held Cornell All-America John Glynn without a point a year ago
Mark Kovler #17
? had two goals and an assist against UMBC
? had two goals against Hopkins
? had a goal against Canisius and a goal and assist against Manhattan
? suffered broken ankle in practice last April 10 and missed
remainder of season
? has at least one goal in 18 straight games, longest current streak by a Princeton player
? three-time All-America
? preseason third-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
? has 63 career goals, most by a Princeton midfielder this decade
Josh Lesko #19
? has gone from starting 12 games a year ago on first midfield to being on first shortstick defensive middie group with Brendan Reilly
? had a goal and assist against Hofstra
? scored a goal against Johns Hopkins
? had an assist against Manhattan
Scott MacKenzie #2
? playing on first midfield unit
? one of three players with at least one point in all five games (Chris McBride/Rich Sgalardi)
? had career-high three goals and four points against Manhattan
? had Princeton's first goal against Hopkins and Hofstra
? had an assist against UMBC
? had a goal and assist against Canisius
Chris McBride #15
? has at least one point in seven straight games, longest current streak by a Princeton player
? only player with at least one goal in all five games this season
? had two goals against UMBC
? started and ended Princeton's 5-0 third-quarter run against UMBC
? had a goal against Hopkins and Hofstra
? scored two goals against Canisius
? had a goal and assist against Manhattan
? had two goals a year ago; had two goals in two of first four games of this season
? moved from midfield to starting on attack alongside cousin Jack McBride
? scored 60 goals as a high school senior two years ago at Delbarton
Jack McBride #14
? leads team with 11 goals and tied for team lead with 13 points despite missing game against Manhattan
? has been Princeton's leading goal-scorer in three of the four games in which he has played
? scored four goals against Hopkins while matched against All-America defenseman Michael Evans
? led Princeton with four goals and five points against Canisius
? all four goals against Canisius came after halftime, as Princeton erased 3-2 deficit
? became first Princeton player to score at least four goals in consecutive games since Jason Doneger did it against Harvard and Butler in 2005
? had one goal against UMBC after spending two nights prior to game in infirmary with stomach flu; did not play against Manhattan due to after-effects
? had two goals and an assist against Hofstra
? 2008 Ivy League Rookie of the Year
? member of United States U19 team that won World Championship last summer in Vancouver
Jonathan Meyers
? faced off twice with longstick against Hopkins and won both
? recruited for football by schools such as Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma; plays football and lacrosse at Princeton
Tyler Moni #27
? playing on second midfield group
? scored first career goal in win over Manhattan
? had three goals during Princeton's European trip for highest goal total by any current player
Chris Peyser #38
? named co-Division I Defenseman of the Week by Christian Swezey of Inside Lacrosse along with teammate Chad Wiedmaier after Hopkins game
? preseason third-team All-America
? has started 32 straight games on defense
? team tri-captain
Brendan Reilly #29
? team tri-captain
? preseason honorable mention All-America
? one of 30 players selected as candidates for Lowe's Senior Class Award
? one of top two defensive shortstick middies since freshman year
? helped hold Kyle Wimer of UMBC, who had been reigning DI Player of the Week and team's leading scorer, to one goal
? had an assist against Canisius
? a Woodrow Wilson Schoool Scholar in the Nation's Service
? completed Marine Corps Office Candidate School over summer and will be commissioned a 2nd Lt. after graduation
? also an All-Collegiate Sprint Football League selection in varsity sport for players 174 pounds or less
Greg Seaman #42
? team tri-captain
? scored a goal against Hopkins
? son of Towson coach Tony Seaman
Rich Sgalardi #18
? one of three players with at least one point in every game (Chris McBride/Scott MacKenzie)
? had a goal and assist against UMBC
? had a goal and two assists against Canisius
? had two assists against Johns Hopkins and Manhattan
Chad Wiedmaier #9
? ranked as fifth-best defenseman by Inside Lacrosse; only freshman of 28 players named as top seven at their position
? Ivy League Rookie of the Week after holding Hopkins' Steven Boyle to one goal and matching Boyle's point total with an assist of his own
? assist came on goal by fellow freshman longstick John Cunningham for the first longstick-to-longstick goal since Bill Tierney has been head coach
? named co-Division I Defenseman of the Week by Christian Swezey of Inside Lacrosse along with teammate Chris Peyser after Hopkins game
? has started every game on defense
? third-ranked current freshman by Inside Lacrosse
Career Scoring
Player G-A-Pts
7 Tommy Davis 63-40-103
17 Mark Kovler 63-17-80
19 Josh Lesko 21-14-35
14 Jack McBride 30-4-34
18 Rich Sgalardi 10-18-28
2 Scott MacKenzie 10-13-23
22 Rob Engelke 14-7-21
3 Chris McBride 9-4-13
42 Greg Seaman 5-0-5
11 Ryan Morrell 2-1-3
29 Brendan Reilly 2-1-3
43 Charlie Kolkin 1-1-2
21 Connor Reilly 2-1-3
3 John Cunningham 1-0-1
47 Cliff Larkin 1-0-1
27 Tyler Moni 1-0-1
24 David Marshall 0-1-1
38 Chris Peyser 0-1-1
9 Chad Wiedmaier 0-1-1
Game-By-Game
CANISIUS (W, 14-6)
GOALS - J. McBride 4, T. Davis 3, C. McBride 2, Engelke 2, MacKenzie 1, Kovler 1, Sgalardi 1
ASSISTS - Sgalardi 2, B. Reilly 1, J. McBride 1, MacKenzie 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (30 min, 3 goals-against, 4 saves), Ashra (30 min, 3 goals-against, 5 saves)
JOHNS HOPKINS (W, 14-8)
GOALS - J. McBride 4, Barnes 2, Kovler 2, C. McBride 1, Lesko 1, Cunningham 1, MacKenzie 1, Engelke 1, Seaman 1
ASSISTS - Sgalardi 2, T. Davis 2, Wiedmaier 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60 min, 8 goals-against, 11 saves)
UMBC (W, 6-5)
GOALS - Kovler 2, C. McBride 2, J. McBride 1, Sgalardi 1
ASSISTS - Kovler 1, MacKenzie 1, Sgalardi 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60 min, 5 goals-against, 10 saves)
MANHATTAN (W, 15-6)
GOALS - T. Davis 5, Engelke 3, MacKenzie 3, Kovler 1, Moni 1, Larkin 1, C. McBride 1
ASSISTS - T. Davis 2, Engelke 2, Sgalardi 2, Kovler 1, Marshall 1, Lesko 1, C. McBride 1, MacKenzie 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (7:57 min, 1 goal-against, 2 saves) ; Ashra (49:32 min, 5 goals-against, 4 saves); Blake (2:31 min, 0 goals-against, 1 save)
HOFSTRA (L, 9-7)
GOALS - J. McBride 2, Lesko 1, T. Davis 1, Sgalardi 1, MacKenzie 1, C. McBride 1
ASSISTS - C. Reilly 1, Lesko 1, J. McBride 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (30 min, 5 goals-against, 6 saves) ; Ashra (30 min, 4 goals-against, 2 saves)