Princeton University Athletics
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Injury-Ravaged Princeton Hosts Brown In Key Ivy Men's Lacrosse Game
April 01, 2011 | Men's Lacrosse
Jack McBride To Miss The Remainder Of The 2011 Season
Midway through last weekend's game between Princeton and Yale, Joe O'Gorman of The Trentonian asked those assembled in the Class of 1952 Stadium how big a loss Nick Fernandez would be.
"He's back," O'Gorman was told.
"He got hurt again," Gorman replied, pointing out the Tiger freshman shortstick defensive midfielder as he sat on the bench, getting his arm attended to by the medical staff.
If there was one moment that has somewhat defined the first half of the 2011 season for Princeton, it was that.
For Fernandez, it was his third injury of the season, after a preseason ankle injury and an early season concussion. This time, the freshman, who had returned from the first two injuries and was one of the two top shortsticks, will miss the rest of the year.
Of course, he's not alone on the list. No fewer than five Princeton players are currently out for the season, and that list doesn't count the seven other players who have missed at least one game.
The result has been a first half of a season that hasn't exactly gone according to plan for the Tigers.
Still, with four Ivy League games to be played, as well as non-league games against Syracuse and Rutgers, there is still a great deal at stake.
For starters, there is the Ivy League tournament, which invites the top four teams to compete for the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
A year ago, four teams tied at 4-2, though in most years going back through history, a 3-3 record would have gotten that team a spot in the top four. In fact, only four times in the last 25 years (including last year) would a team with three wins have not gotten in, had their been a tournament.
Both Princeton and Brown are winless in the league, Brown at 0-1 with a loss to Harvard and Princeton 0-2 with losses to Penn and then last weekend in overtime to Yale.
The winner of today's game vaults itself into the thick of the race for Ivy tournament.
* * *
Princeton will be without All-America attackman Jack McBride for the remainder of the season.
McBride has 90 career goals, 15th best all-time at Princeton. He scored 19 as a freshman to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors, and he then had back-to-back 35-goal seasons to earn first-team All-Ivy recognition.
This year, McBride missed all of Princeton's scrimmages with a groin injury. He tried to play against Hofstra in the season-opener and scored one goal, but he left in the fourth quarter after reaggravating it.
His only game action since came in a three-minute stretch against Penn.
* * *
Senior captain Tyler Moni will also miss the Brown game with a wrist injury.
* * *
Princeton and Brown have traditionally played close, low-scoring games, and last year's 9-7 Princeton win and 11-7 Princeton win in 2009 were actually on the high side in terms of goal scoring in the series.
In the three years prior to that, all three Princeton-Brown games were decided by one goal, with a 6-5 Brown win 2008, an 8-7 Princeton win in 2007 and a 6-5 Princeton win in 2006.
Only twice in the last 25 years have both teams reached double figures, and it's only happened once (Princeton 12, Brown 10 in 2002) in the last 20 years.
* * *
Princeton leads the all-time series against Brown 27-21. The Tigers have played the Bears fewer times than any other Ivy team, as this will be the 49th meeting, or 10 fewer games than Princeton and Dartmouth have played.
Princeton has also played Johns Hopkins and Rutgers more than it's played Brown through the years.
The series between the Tigers and Bears began in 1964, and the two have met every year since. They also played twice in 1994, as Brown won the regular-season title and Princeton won in the NCAA semifinals en route to the second of its six NCAA titles.
* * *
Princeton defeated Brown 9-7 last year at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., as part of the New England Lacrosse Classic. Princeton will play Dartmouth April 16 at Gillette Stadium in this year's event, after Providence takes on Syracuse in the first game.
Tyler Fiorito made a career-high 17 saves in the win over Brown last year. Fiorito has a .650 save percentage (26 saves, 14 goals-against) in two career games against the Bears.
* * *
Brown will be playing its second game of the week after a 12-7 loss at No. 3 Duke Tuesday afternoon.
David Hawley led Brown with three goals, while Andrew Feinberg had two.
Feinberg is Brown's leader in goals (19) and points (27). He was a high school teamate of Princeton goalie Tyler Fiorito at the McDonogh School, though Feinberg was a year ahead of Fiorito.
* * *
Forest Sonnenfeldt is the only Princeton player with at least one goal in every game so far this season.
Sonnenfeldt has 10 goals on the season, making him the only Tiger in double figures.
Freshman middie Tom Schreiber leads the team in points with 12 (8G, 4A).
* * *
Tyler Fiorito is the only Princeton player to start every game since the start of the 2010 season.
Fiorito has actually started every game of his career, dating back to the 2009 season. Only one Princeton goalie has ever started every game for four years, and that was Scott Bacigalupo, who graduated in 1994 after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1992 and 1994 Final Fours and who was recently inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
* * *
Princeton has won 37.6% of its face-offs; Brown has won 44.8% of its face-offs.
Princeton has not won more face-offs than its opponent in any of its six games.
* * *
Neither Princeton nor Brown is ranked in this week's Top 20.
This will mark the first time this season that Princeton's opponent has been unranked, and Princeton is the only Division I team who has played all ranked opponents to this point of the season.
Princeton's first six opponents and their current rankings:
Hofstra - No. 8 IL, No. 10 USILA
Johns Hopkins - No. 6 IL, No. 5 USILA
North Carolina - No. 5 IL, No. 4 USILA
Villanova - No. 11 IL, No. 8 USILA
Penn - No. 13 IL, No. 13 USILA
Yale - No. 15 IL, No. 15 USILA
Still ahead for Princeton are games next Saturday against No. 1 Syracuse, April 23 against No. 20 Harvard and April 30 at No. 7 Cornell.
* * *
What Can You Say About ...
Luke Armour #16
• started first two games on attack and has played mostly midfield since
• had a goal against Yale
• had two assists against both Johns Hopkins and Hofstra
• played in last five games of freshman year after playing in one of the first 11
• scored first career goal in Ivy final last year against Cornell, giving Princeton its first goal of the day
• missed Hofstra and Hopkins games due to injury
• had an assist against Villanova
• can play attack or midfield
• scored four goals a year ago, including back-to-back games against Cornell in the regular-season finale and Yale in the Ivy tournament
Rob Castelo #4
• started first two games on close defense
• suffered a torn ACL in the second quarter of the win over Johns Hopkins and will miss the rest of the season
• Hopkins did not score its first goal of the game until the continuation of the possession when Castelo was hurt
• had one caused turnover and one ground ball against Hofstra
• played longstick midfield behind John Cunningham a year ago
• had one caused turnover and one ground ball
• preseason third-team All-America selection by Inside Lacrosse
• 2010 honorable mention All-Ivy League selection
• team captain, making him the first junior captain since Jason Doneger in 2005
• had three ground balls and two caused turnovers against Villanova
• had a caused turnover and four groundballs against Yale
• had five ground balls and a caused turnover against Penn
• had two caused turnovers against Hopkins
• no Hopkins midfielder scored a goal in the game
• had one caused turnover and one ground ball against Hofstra
• scored five goals last season, most ever by a Tiger longstick in a season
• has six career goals, two of which have been assisted on by another longstick, making them the only two goals in the last 23 years at Princeton that were longstick-to-longstick
• started first six games a year ago on defense before moving back to natural position of longstick midfielder
• led team with 54 ground balls
• had 13 caused turnovers
• had a goal in each game against against Cornell
• had six ground balls and two caused turnovers against Hofstra in 2010
Long Ellis #41
• starting on close defense for second year
• second-team All-Ivy League selection in 2010
• held UNC All-America Billy Bitter without a goal or assist
• held Hopkins' attackman Chris Boland to one goal, which came in the fourth quarter and the score 8-1 Princeton
• had a caused turnover and five ground balls against Hopkins
• had two caused turnovers and three ground balls against Villanova
• led team with 22 caused turnovers despite missing two games due to injury in 2010
• named to the Ivy League tournament all-tournament team
Mark Feild #25
• had a goal and assist against Hofstra on the extra-man unit
• had a goal against Villanova
• two points against Hofstra were the first of his career
• was injured most of his first two seasons
Nick Fernandez #24
• suffered a season-ending broken arm against Yale
• missed Hofstra game with ankle injury
• had a concussion against Johns Hopkins
• had a caused turnover against Villanova
• 2011 preseason second-team All-America
• has a career .650 save percentage against Brown
• made career-high 17 saves against Brown last week
• made nine saves while allowing three goals against Johns Hopkins
• made 15 saves against Hofstra
• made 14 saves against Penn
• made 14 saves against North Carolina
• made 10 saves against Villanova
• 2010 first-team All-Ivy League selection
• Most Valuable Player of the first Ivy League tournament
• assist against Rutgers last year on a 70-yard pass to Jack McBride was one of two by a Princeton goalie in the last 30 years (Alex Hewit, 2007)
• honorable mention All-America each of his first two years and second-team All-Ivy League last year as a freshman
• started every game of his career
Mike Flanagan #34
• started on close defense against North Carolina and Villanova after the injury to Rob Castelo
• played primarily on man-down defense in his career before taking over for Castelo
Jeff Froccaro #18
• had a goal and two assists while winning 3 of 6 face-offs against Villanova
• had a goal and won 5 of 11 face-offs against Hopkins
• had two goals against Hofstra
• won 5 of 10 face-offs against North Carolina
• of his 18 career goals, 14 have come in the second half or overtime
• 2010 second-team All-Ivy League selection
• had 15 goals and seven assists as a freshman
• also won 90 of 177 face-offs
• won face-off to start overtime against both Penn and Hopkins last year; Princeton won both without ever giving up possession
• playing on the second midfield
• had a goal against Hopkins
• had a goal against Penn
• had a goal against Yale in last year's Ivy semifinal
• has started on attack and midfield in his career
Cliff Larkin #19
• playing on attack
• had career highs with three goals, two assists and five points against Villanova
• had an assist against North Carolina and Yale
Bobby Lucas #17
• won both of his face-offs against Hopkins and also played shortstick defensive midfield
• won 1 of 2 face-offs against Hofstra and played shortstick defensive middie
• won 25 of 48 face-offs (.521) before missing second half of last season due to a back injury
Chris McBride #15
• senior captain
• team leader in career goals (41), assists (18) and points (59) with the season-ending injury to his cousin Jack; has more than twice as many career goals and points than the next-highest player
• missed Hofstra game due to injury
• returned to start on attack against Hopkins and had two assists
• had a goal against North Carolina
• had two goals against Villanova and Yale
• has started most of his career on attack, though he has played some midfield
• had 16 goals and eight assists (24 points) a year ago; had 18 goals and six assists (24 points) in 2009
• his father is Jack McBride's father's brother; his mother is Jack McBride's mother's first cousin
Jack McBride #14
• senior captain
• preseason second-team All-America
• selected by Denver with the 27th pick of the Major League Lacrosse draft
• played the first three quarters against Hofstra before reaggravating a preseason groin injury; missed the next three games completely and most of the Penn game and now will not play for the rest of the season
• goal against Hofstra was the 90th of his career
• a first-team All-Ivy League selection each of the last two years
• honorable mention All-America last year; second-team All-America in 2009
• first Princeton player with back-to-back seasons of at least 30 goals since Jason Doneger in 2003 and 2004
• 15th all-time at Princeton with 90 goals
• has 115 career points, 21st best all-time at Princeton
• had two goals and three assists against Notre Dame in NCAA tournament
• scored game-winning goal in overtime in the Ivy League final agains Cornell
• had six goals and one assist in the Ivy tournament to earn all-tournament team honors
• has three career overtime points (goal against Cornell, assists last year against Penn, this year against Hopkins)
• his father is Chris McBride's father's brother; his mother is Chris McBride's mother's first cousin
Jonathan Meyers #28
• started on defense against Yale after missing last two games with hamstring injury
• can play close defense or longstick midfield
• caused two turnovers against Yale
• had two ground balls against Hopkins
• had one caused turnover and one ground ball against Hofstra
• played as second longstick middie with John Cunningham after Chad Wiedmaier's return until starting on defense against Rutgers
• had 11 caused turnovers a year gao
• recruited for football by schools such as Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma
Tyler Moni #27
• senior captain
• had the first goal of the game less than a minute into the Hopkins game
• had a goal against North Carolina
• had a goal against Villanova
• had a goal and assist against Yale
• moved from second offensive midfield to defensive shortstick for the Penn game last year
• had two goals against both Hofstra and against Hopkins as an offensive middie in 2010
• had 30 ground balls and four caused turnovers
• had a goal against Brown and Harvard as a defensive middie
• had an assist and five ground balls against Penn, including two ground balls after face-offs during Princeton's 4-0 run in the fourth quarter to tie it and then on the face-off to start OT
• had two goals in each of first two games, against Hofstra and Hopkins
Derick Raabe #31
• made first collegiate start in game against Penn and had a caused turnover and two ground balls
• played longstick midfield against Yale
• had a ground ball against Villanova
Tom Schreiber #22
• returned with a goal and assist against Yale after missing Penn game with rib injury
• earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors after his four-goal, five-point day against Johns Hopkins
• had a goal and two assists against North Carolina
• had two goals in the first five minutes against Hofstra, including first collegiate goal less than five seconds after he first touched the ball
• leads team in points (12), is tied for the team lead in assists (four) and is second in goals (eight)
• No. 2 incoming freshman according to Inside Lacrosse behind UNC's Nicky Galasso
• scored more than 200 points in high school career
• father Doug, who played at Maryland and won an NCAA title there in 1973 and then the 1974 World Championship with the U.S., is a member of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame
• scored a goal against Penn
• played against Hofstra and then missed the next three games
Peter Smyth #26
• one of top shortstick defensive middies
• no Hopkins middie scored a goal against Princeton
• was also 57 for 114 on face-offs and had two goals and four assists a year ago
• won 11 of 21 face-offs against Cornell in Ivy final; won 8 of final 13 after winning 3 of first 8
• father Fran played lacrosse at Princeton, graduating in 1982
• leads team with 10 goals
• is the only player with at least one in every game
• had two goals against North Carolina and Yale
• had team-best three goals against Hofstra in first collegiate start
• had one goal against Hopkins, Villanova and Penn
• played mostly on extra-man unit a year ago
Jack Strabo #35
• shortstick defensive middie
• played for first time in his career against Hopkins
• had a caused turnover and ground ball against Penn
• had first caused turnover in game against North Carolina
• had a caused turnover against Villanova
Derek Styer #36
• veteran longstick middie
• had a goal against Manhattan a year ago
Chris White #29
• is playing on second midfield unit
• had two goals a year ago
• preseason first-team All-America by Inside Lacrosse
• leads team in caused turnovers
• held Zach Palmer, Hopkins leading scorer, without a goal, assist or even a shot
• had a caused turnover and two ground balls against Hopkins and a caused turnover and ground ball against Hofstra
• had two caused turnovers and four ground balls against Yale
• had two caused turnovers against Villanova
• a second-team All-America and first-team All-Ivy League pick each of his first two seasons
• missed first six games of last season after having off-season knee surgery and was still first-team All-Ivy and second-team All-America
• had 12 caused turnovers in 10 games
Game-By-Game
HOFSTRA (L, 11-9)
GOALS - Sonnenfeldt 3, Schreiber 2, Froccaro 2, J. McBride 1, Feild 1
ASSISTS - Armour 2, Feild 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:00 min, 11 goals-against, 15 saves)
JOHNS HOPKINS (W, 8-3)
GOALS - Schreiber 4, Sonnenfeldt 1, Froccaro 1, Grossman 1, Moni 1
ASSISTS - Armour 2, C. McBride 2, Schreiber 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:00 min, 3 goals-against, 9 saves)
NORTH CAROLINA (L, 9-5)
GOALS - Sonnenfeldt 2, Schreiber 1, Moni 1, C. McBride 1
ASSISTS - Schreiber 2, Larkin 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:00 min, 9 goals-against, 14 saves)
VILLANOVA (L, 10-9)
GOALS - Larkin 3, C. McBride 2, Moni 1, Feild
1, Sonnenfeldt 1,
Froccaro 1
ASSISTS - Larkin 2, Froccaro 2, Capretta 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:00 min, 10 goals-against, 10 saves)
PENN (L, 8-3)
GOALS - Sonnenfeldt 1, Shanley 1, Grossman 1
ASSISTS - none
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:00 min, 8 goals-against, 14 saves)
YALE (L, 8-7 OT)
GOALS - C. McBride 2, Sonnenfeldt 2, Moni 1, Schreiber 1, Armour 1
ASSISTS - Schreiber 1, Larkin 1, Moni 1
GOALIE - Fiorito (60:33 min, 8 goals-against, 7 saves)
Career Scoring
Player G-A-Pts
14 Jack McBride 90-25-115
15 Chris McBride 41-18-59
10 Jeff Froccaro 19-9-28
27 Tyler Moni 14-3-17
2 Forest Sonnenfeldt 14-1-15
22 Tom Schreiber 8-4-12
8 Mike Grossman 6-3-9
19 Cliff Larkin 4-5-9
3 John Cunningham 6-1-7
26 Peter Smyth 2-4-6
47 Luke Armour 2-4-6
1 Alex Capretta 5-1-6
7 Tucker Shanley 3-0-3
25 Mark Feild 2-1-3
21 Connor Reilly 2-1-3
29 Chris White 2-0-2
9 Chad Wiedmaier 1-1-2
6 Tyler Fiorito 0-1-1
36 Derek Styer 1-0-1