Princeton University Athletics
Jake Stevens had seven more ground balls against Virginia.
Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast
Stevens A Huge "Pick Up" For Princeton
February 24, 2019 | Men's Lacrosse
Did you hear about the Canadian kid who went to Culver Military Academy and became a ground ball machine for the Princeton men's lacrosse team?
Okay, it's way too early in the career of Tiger freshman Jake Stevens to mention him in the same breath as the great Zack Currier - or is it? Through two games, Stevens has shown that he could be following in the footsteps of Currier, and not just because they're both from Ontario and both went to high school at Culver.
Specifically, Stevens is starting to look like a new version of Currier on the face-off wings. The 5-9 freshman has a startling total of 16 ground balls through two games, and even more startling is that 14 of those 16 have come on face-offs.
Currier, one of the top players in the world in both field and box lacrosse, finished his Princeton career with 302 ground balls, including 130 as a senior, when he came within one of Greg Waller's single-season school record. And how many of those 302 ground balls came in Currier's freshman year of 2014? How about 16, the same number that Stevens has in two games.
Currier also finished his career with 55 goals and 69 assists, and he twice led the team in caused turnovers while also taking face-offs himself. Stevens has one assist so far.
Again, is it fair to compare any freshman to Zach Currier? Obviously not.
Still, led by Stevens, who also has a strong box background and who also played hockey in high school, on the wings, Princeton has won 35 of 58 face-offs in two games, a .603 percentage. A year ago, Princeton won 48 percent of its face-offs for the season.
Up next for Princeton is a home game against Johns Hopkins Saturday, March 2, with face-off at noon.
Okay, it's way too early in the career of Tiger freshman Jake Stevens to mention him in the same breath as the great Zack Currier - or is it? Through two games, Stevens has shown that he could be following in the footsteps of Currier, and not just because they're both from Ontario and both went to high school at Culver.
Specifically, Stevens is starting to look like a new version of Currier on the face-off wings. The 5-9 freshman has a startling total of 16 ground balls through two games, and even more startling is that 14 of those 16 have come on face-offs.
Currier, one of the top players in the world in both field and box lacrosse, finished his Princeton career with 302 ground balls, including 130 as a senior, when he came within one of Greg Waller's single-season school record. And how many of those 302 ground balls came in Currier's freshman year of 2014? How about 16, the same number that Stevens has in two games.
Currier also finished his career with 55 goals and 69 assists, and he twice led the team in caused turnovers while also taking face-offs himself. Stevens has one assist so far.
Again, is it fair to compare any freshman to Zach Currier? Obviously not.
Still, led by Stevens, who also has a strong box background and who also played hockey in high school, on the wings, Princeton has won 35 of 58 face-offs in two games, a .603 percentage. A year ago, Princeton won 48 percent of its face-offs for the season.
Up next for Princeton is a home game against Johns Hopkins Saturday, March 2, with face-off at noon.
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