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As The Season Faces-Off, A Position-By-Position Look At The 2015 Tigers
February 09, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
The 2015 Princeton men's lacrosse season and Valentines' Day will arrive together, and this could be a season to love for the Tigers.
Princeton returns nine of its 10 starters from 2014 and will be a much more experienced team than it's been the last two years, especially on the defensive side of the field. Yes, the one starter lost is a huge one – as in three-time first-team All-America Tom Schreiber. Still, Princeton starts out with an offensive foursome of Ryan Ambler and Mike MacDonald on attack and Jake Froccaro and Kip Orban in the midfield, which means that four of Princeton's best offensive players in the last 10 or so years return. Ambler and Froccaro are juniors; Orban and MacDonald are seniors and Major League Lacrosse draftees – all four have started since they were freshmen.
Due to a change in Ivy rules, the men's lacrosse season faces off one week earlier than usual, which means Princeton's opener is Feb. 14 against Manhattan. Princeton plays just five home games this year, which means that 1) by the end of the game against Hofstra on Feb. 20 that Princeton will have played 20 percent of its home schedule by then and 3) that eight of the last 11 games are away. The 2015 schedule features newcomers Stony Brook and Maryland, replacing North Carolina and Villanova.
A position-by-position look at the 2015 Tigers:
Attack
Starters returning – Ryan Ambler (24-19-43), Mike MacDonald (19-22-41), Will Rotatori (5-1-6)
Starters lost – none
Position change – Adam Hardej
Other returning letterwinners – Sean Connors (0-1-1), Brendan DeTommaso, Gavin McBride
Other letterwinners lost – Owen Knights
Newcomers - Greg Merrill, Riley Thompson
The return of Ryan Ambler and Mike MacDonald, who will be starting together for the third straight year, gives Princeton a very strong foundation on which to build an offense. MacDonald, who missed the fall after hip surgery, enters his senior season with 84 career goals (18th best all-time at Princeton) and 130 career points (19th). MacDonald, a lefty, is a Major League Lacrosse draftee (Rochester, sixth round) who put up a career-best 24 assists last year. His goal-scoring dropped from 43 as a sophomore to 19 last year, when he was slowed by injuries all season, but he is healthy again. One huge key for Princeton is to find a reliable third attackman, and 6-6 Adam Hardej could be that huge key. Hardej, who played mostly defensive midfield during an injury-filled freshman season, moved to attack this past fall. In six games a year ago, Hardej took just one shot. Brendan DeTommaso, a senior, has been trying to get back from multiple injuries, including a torn ACL. Then there is the army of players who can, and will, play attack and midfield, including sophomores Gavin McBride and Sean Connors and freshman Riley Thompson.
Offensive midfield
Starters returning – Jake Froccaro (27-14-41), Kip Orban (21-8-29)
Starters lost – Tom Schreiber (30-21-51)
Position change – Bear Altemus, Will Rotatori
Other returning letterwinners – Matt Brophy, Zach Currier (6-4-10), Will Himler (1-0-1) Brendan McGrath, Bobby Weaver
Other letterwinners lost – Freddy Addy, Tucker Shanley (13-3-16), Forest Sonnenfeldt (5-0-5), Paul Zima
Newcomers – Alexander Fish, Braedon Gait, Drew O'Connell
Perhaps you've heard of the lone starter who graduated from Princeton. Tom Schreiber was Princeton's leading scorer each of the last four years, a four-time first-team All-Ivy selection, a three-time first-team All-America and the focal point of the other team's defense in every single game. His graduation leaves a gaping hole in the entire operation. Still, even without Schreiber, offensive midfield depth is one of the strengths of this team. Kip Orban, the team's lone captain, started four games as a freshman and every game the last two years. He enters his senior year with at least one goal in 26 straight games, which is the longest active streak in Division I. Orban was taken in the third round of the MLL draft, going to Charlotte with the 19th overall selection. Orban is etched in stone on the first midfield. Jake Froccaro made national news last year with his 10-goal game against Yale, and he enters 2015 as Princeton's leading returning goal-scorer and a preseason third-team All-America. Froccaro is the only Princeton middie ever to have at least 20 goals as a freshman and sophomore and the only Princeton midfielder to reach the 50-goal mark by the end of his sophomore year. He, Orban and Schreiber were Princeton's first midfield unit for the last two years. Who will move into the starting spot this year? Sophomore Zach Currier started slowly last year but come on strong, with three points in the first 10 games and then seven in the last three, including three goals and an assist against Dartmouth and two goals against Cornell. Will Rotatori started eight games on attack a year ago but will play midfield as a senior. Fellow senior Will Himler had an injury-shortened 2014 (one goal, six games), but he is a very experienced player whose resume includes being second on the team in assists in 2012 behind only Schreiber. Sophomores Sean Connors and Gavin McBride and freshman Riley Thompson are hard to label and can play attack or middie. Junior Bobby Weaver is another strong contender for playing time.
Shortstick defensive midfield
Starters returning – none
Starters lost – Nick Fernandez (0-1-1 7 GB, 5 CT), Jack Strabo (1-3-4, 16 GB, 6 CT)
Other returning letterwinners – Austin deButts
Other letterwinners lost –Hunter deButts (1-0-1, 10 GB, 5 CT)
Newcomers – Sam Bonafede, J.T. Caputo, Austin Sims
Princeton was wiped out by graduation at this key defensive position. Jack Strabo was a four-year starter at SSDM, and Nick Fernandez played alongside him except for his junior year, when he played close defense. Hunter deButts, who played a lot of defensive middie (and offensive middie and attack) also graduated, leaving Austin deButts as the most experienced player at this position. Jake Froccaro could be playing as a two-way middie, while the rest of the rotation figures to come from three freshmen: Sam Bonafede, J.T. Caputo and Austin Sims.
Face-Off
Starters returning – none
Starters lost – Justin Murphy (2-0-2, 106x192)
Other returning letterwinners – Jake Froccaro (14x30), Jack O'Brien (26x68)
Other letterwinners lost – none
Newcomers – Sam Bonafede
Justin Murphy was a very reliable face-off man in his career at Princeton, and the Tigers clearly felt his absence a year ago when he missed four games due to concussions. Without Murphy, Princeton lost 40 of 60 face-offs against Yale and Brown and lost both games by a single goal; those two losses more than any other doomed the Tigers' season. Murphy has had to give up playing due to concussions, and face-offs are the biggest question mark for the Tigers heading into 2015. Jake Froccaro, in addition to being a two-way middie, is also a top face-off specialist, and he figures to take way more than the 30 he took a year ago or the 59 he took as a freshman. Jack O'Brien filled in for Murphy a year ago and figures to take some, as does freshman Sam Bonafede.
Longstick midfield
Starters returning – none
Starters lost – Derick Raabe (43 GB, 11 CT)
Position change – Will Reynolds (1-0-1, 16 GB, 11 CT)
Other returning letterwinners – Sam Gravitte (9 GB, 1 CT)
Other letterwinners lost – Brandon Bonvino (8 GB, 1 CT)
Newcomers – none
Derick Raabe was Princeton's top longstick midfielder a year ago and a very experienced pole who started on close defense or was an LSM for all four of his seasons. Sam Gravitte saw plenty of time as an LSM a year ago as a freshman, and he is back this year at the same spot (he can also face-off). The big move for Princeton in 2015 will be having Will Reynolds, a third-team preseason All-America, go from close defense to longstick midfield, where he will be able to use his athleticism and cover skills on the opponents' top offensive middies. Reynolds started 12 of the 13 games a year ago on defense and tied Raabe for the team lead in caused turnovers. He also scored a goal against Yale, and he should get more opportunities in transition this year from playing up top.
Defense
Starters returning – Bear Goldstein (11 GB, 6 CT), Will Reynolds, Mark Strabo (22 GB, 7 CT)
Starters lost – none
Other returning letterwinners – Alistair Berven, Luke Brugger, Brian Pickup, Rob Posniewski
Other letterwinners lost – none
Newcomers – Aran Roberts, Daniel Winschuh
Princeton started two freshmen (Will Reynolds and Bear Goldstein) and a sophomore (Mark Strabo) last year, and Strabo started every game in 2013 as well. In fact, Goldstein and Strabo are the only current players who have started every game of their careers. Reynolds will probably move to longstick midfield, leaving Strabo and Goldstein to continue to play down low and opening one close defense spot. The two main contenders for that starting position are sophomore Alistair Berven, who played sparingly a year ago, and freshman Aran Roberts, who grew up in Ireland before attending high school in California. Both Berven and Roberts looked very good in the fall. Brian Pickup and Rob Posniewski will also compete for playing time when they are fully healthy.
Goalie
Starters returning – Matt O'Connor (10.91 GAA, .464 save %), Eric Sanschagrin (10.47 GAA, .533 save %)
Starters lost – Brian Kavanagh (12.00 GAA, .526 save %)
Other returning letterwinners – none
Other letterwinners lost – none
Newcomer – Tyler Blaisdell
Eric Sanschagrin has come on to take the starting spot at the end of each of the last two seasons. This time around, he'll be the starter for the opener. Sanschagrin, a senior, started the last four games of 2013 and the last five of 2014. Now a senior, he is an experienced, confident goalie who is good at stopping the ball and starting transition, and he seized the starting position with a very good fall. Princeton does have great depth behind him, with junior Matt O'Connor, who has started 16 career games, and freshman Tyler Blaisdell, an Under Armour All-America a year ago.