Time Change: No. 7 Princeton To Host No. 3 Rutgers Friday Night Instead Of Saturday

Friday, March 11

Princeton, N.J.

6:00 PM

Princeton University

Rutgers

Tickets

The Princeton-Rutgers game on Sherrerd Field has been moved to Friday at 6.

Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast

Time Change: No. 7 Princeton To Host No. 3 Rutgers Friday Night Instead Of Saturday

March 10, 2022 | Men's Lacrosse

THE MEN'S LACROSSE GAME BETWEEN NO. 7 PRINCETON AND NO. 3 RUTGERS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON HAS BEEN MOVED TO FRIDAY NIGHT AT 6 ON SHERRERD FIELD DUE TO THE PREDICTED WINTER STORM FOR SATURDAY.

NO. 7 PRINCETON VS. NO. 3 RUTGERS
Friday, March 11, 2022 • 6 pm
Sherrerd Field • Princeton, N.J.
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The Princeton men's lacrosse team has had all week to feel good about its win over the No. 3 team in the country. Next up for the Tigers is … the new No. 3 team in the country.

Princeton's tough schedule continues with its 99^th meeting with Rutgers, who moved up to No. 3 after the Tigers knocked off Georgetown 10-8 a week ago. Princeton, for its part, has gone from unranked to No. 7 in the USILA coaches poll and Inside Lacrosse media poll and No. 5 in the USA Lacrosse poll.

Besides being a Top 10 matchup, the Princeton-Rutgers rivalry is one of the oldest and most-played in all of college lacrosse. The winner of the game each year receives the Meistrell Cup.

The game will be preceded by a moment of silence in memory of longtime Rutgers coach Tom Hayes, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 82. Hayes, a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, won 194 games at Rutgers, more than any other coach in program history. Hayes, who coached 24 Top 20 teams in 26 years, was 12-14 against Princeton.

Princeton vs. Rutgers
Five Storylines

National rankings
Princeton in 2020 went from unranked in the preseason to ranked in the top three after five games. The 2022 Tigers have gone from mostly unranked to everyone's top 10 in four games.

Princeton is playing its third-straight game against a team ranked in the Top 3 of every poll. Two weeks ago was No. 1 Maryland. Last week was No. 3 Georgetown. This week is No. 3 Rutgers.

What's next? Penn, who is ranked fifth, sixth or seven, depending on which poll you like. Then? It's Yale and Brown, both of whom are in the Top 20. The Saturday after Brown is another nationally ranked team, Boston University.

Series history
The first men's lacrosse game in Princeton history was played in 1881. Rutgers would play its first game six years later. Both schools decided to discontinue the sport several years after, as Rutgers dropped its team in 1889 and Princeton gave up in 1893.

Harland (Tots) Meistrell, meanwhile, went from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn to Rutgers in 1920, where he played varsity football as a freshman and also restarted the lacrosse team. A year later, in 1921, he restarted the team at Princeton.

Today, he represents both schools in the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and the winner of the Princeton-Rutgers game each year wins the Meistrell Cup.

The teams have met every year since 1921, except for the World War II seasons of 1944 and 1945 and a year ago.

Princeton leads the all-time series 64-31-3, and the home team has won each of the last five.

Causing turnovers
The program record for caused turnovers in a game (a stat first kept in 2007) was 15, something that had been done six times through the years. Princeton has had at least 15 caused turnovers in three of its first four games of 2022.

Princeton is 3-0 in games in which it has reached 15 caused turnovers, including the new program record of 17 set last week against Georgetown in a game in which 10 different Tigers had at least one. Princeton caused four turnovers in its loss at Maryland.

National leaders
Princeton is the Division I leader in team shooting percentage at .386. Princeton actually has a better shooting percentage in its one loss (.435) than it does in its three wins (.380).

Princeton also has five individuals ranked in the top 100 in Division I in shooting percentage:
Jake Stevens (.571) fifth
Chris Brown (.529) 11^th
Alex Slusher (.500) 16^th
Sam English (.409) 65^th
Christian Ronda (.375) 93rd

Princeton is also second in Division I in caused turnovers per game and man-up offense and third in the country in opponent clearing percentage. In all Princeton is in the top 10 nationally in 10 different statistical categories, including both scoring offense and scoring defense. In face, Princeton is one of two teams in the country in the top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense, along with Michigan, who is No. 1 in both.

Defense
Princeton has held three of its first four opponents to single digits and is allowing 9.5 goals per game. The last time Princeton held its opponents below 10 goals per game for a full season was 2012, when the Tigers led Division I at 7.75.

Princeton's starting close defense against Georgetown consisted of Ben Finlay, Colin Mulshine and Pace Billlings, who between them have a combined 14 career starts, nine of which belong to Finlay. Without George Baughan, the first-team All-American from 2020 who missed the game due to injury, Princeton used seven longpoles – the three close D starters plus Jacob Stroebner, Cathal Roberts, Andrew Song and Luca Lazzaretto – and four shortstick D middies – Beau Pederson, Marquez White, Luke Crimmins and Joseph Juengerkes.

Other notes

* Princeton goalie Erik Peters was named the Ivy League Player of the Week after a 17-save performance against Georgetown. Andrew Song was named to the USILA Team of the Week after he had four caused turnovers and three ground balls in the win.

* There are three players in this game who were added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List this week. Princeton goalie Erik Peters and Rutgers' two leading scorers Ross Scott and Mitch Bartolo were all named to in the most recent additions.

* Erik Peters had made 14 starts prior to this year and had a below-50 percent save percentage in eight of those. This year, he has been at least .559 in all four games and at least .600 in three of them.

* Princeton has 50 players on the roster. More than half have played in fewer than 10 career games.

* Alex Slusher and Sam English have combined for 14 of Princeton's last 20 goals.

* Princeton has seven players who were ranked among the Top 100 freshman by Inside Lacrosse, tying the Tigers with North Carolina for the most of any team in the country.

What can you say about …

Jamie Atkinson • Sr., M, No. 25
* one of five senior captains (also George Baughan, Chris Brown, Erik Peters, Andrew Song)
* has yet to play this season due to injury

Tommy Barnds • So., A, No. 21
* has three goals and two assists
* had a goal against Maryland
* made his first three career starts after having moved from middie to attack and has now moved back to middie

Michael Bath • Fr., LSM, No. 88
* has played LSM and on the face-off wings
* had first career goal in the Binghamton game
* also has two caused turnovers and five ground balls

George Baughan • Sr., D, No. 17
* 2020 Inside Lacrosse first-team All-American
* unanimous first-team All-Ivy selection and honorable mention All-American in 2019
* Tewaaraton Award watchlist
* has three caused turnovers

Pace Billings • So., D, No. 3
* has started every game on close defense after being an LSM through the fall
* has three caused turnovers
* had first career assist against Georgetown
* held Georgetown's Conor Morin without a goal or assist

Chris Brown • Sr., A, No. 6
* has at least one point in all 36 games in his career
* had 35-game streak with at least one goal to start his career, which was the longest streak to start a career and second longest overall in program history (next longest streak to start a career was 14 games)
* had back-to-back seven-point games to start the season, with 3G, 4A against Monmouth and 4G, 3A against Binghamton
* had 2G, 1A against Maryland
* has a .529 shooting percentage (nine goals, 17 shots), ranking 11^th in Division I
* leads the team with 18 points and nine assists and is tied for second with nine goals
* has 125 career points, or 87 more than the next-highest total on the team
* is 28^th all-time in points and 27^th goals at Princeton

Career points
23. Tommy Davis (128)
24. Charles Stillwell/Bill Chaires/Jack McBride (127)
27. Kip Orban (126)
28. Chris Brown (125)

Career goals
22. Jeff Froccaro (86)
23.Mark Kovler (84)
24. Dave Huebeck (83)
25. Jon Hess/Austin Sims (82)
27. Chris Brown (79)

Sean Cameron • Fr., M, No. 11
* second-line midfielder who had his first career goal in win over Binghamton

Luke Crimmins • Sr., SSDM, No. 31
* converted to SSDM in two weeks before season started
* had his best career game with a goal, two caused turnovers and five ground balls
* had two goals on two shots against Binghamton

Sam English * Jr., M, No. 15
* has nine goals and six assists after moving from SSDM to a first-line midfielder
* tied for team lead in goals
* second on the team in assists
* had three goals and an assist against Georgetown
* had a career-high four goals against Maryland
* had five points (2G, 3A) against Binghamton
* has scored Princeton's first goal in each of the last three games

Ben Finlay • Jr., D, No. 10
* has started every game of his career
* has eight caused turnovers through two games, tied for the team lead
* tied for 11^th in Division I in caused turnovers per game
* had a caused turnover and four ground balls against Maryland
* had four caused turnovers against Georgetown

Joseph Juengerkes • So., SSDM, No. 13
* has seen considerable time as an SSDM
* has a caused turnover and ground ball

Coulter Mackesy • Fr., M, No. 91
* began the year as a middie and made first career start on attack against Georgetown
* has two goals and two assists

Colin Mulshine • Fr., D, No. 43
* made his first career start against Georgetown
* helped hold the Hoya attack to two goals on 13 shots
* has five ground balls

Beau Pederson • Jr., SSDM, No. 23
* Princeton's top shortstick D middie
* had a goal against Binghamton
* had an assist against Maryland
* had a caused turnover and three ground balls against Georgetown
* has two caused turnovers and eight ground balls
* converted O middie who had 10 goals as a freshman

Erik Peters • Sr., G, No. 9
* has a 10.17 goals-against average and .620 save percentage through four games
* added to Tewaaraton Award watchlist
* has made 36 saves in his last two games (Maryland, Georgetown)
* had 17 saves while allowing eight goals against Georgetown to earn Ivy Player of the Week honors; made 10 saves in the second half and six in the fourth quarter
* had a career-high 19 saves against Maryland
* Princeton's starting goalie since midway through the 2019 season

Cathal Roberts • Jr., D, No. 26
* can play close D or LSM
* caused turnover at midfield led to key second-quarter goal against Georgetown
* has four caused turnovers and three ground balls

Christian Ronda • Jr, M, No. 12
* has six goals and two assists as a starting middie
* played in one career game prior to this season without taking a shot
* had five goals against Monmouth in his first start
* has six goals on 14 shots

Tyler Sandoval • So., FO, No. 35
* has won 36 of 66 face-offs through two games (.545)
* also leads team with 13 ground balls
* had an assist against Binghamton
* missed the Maryland game in the Covid protocol

Alex Slusher • Jr., A, No. 5
* leads team with 14 goals and is second on team with 17 points
* has 14 goals on 28 shots, for a .500 shooting percentage that ranks 16^th in Division I
* had five of Princeton's 10 goals against Georgetown
* also had five goals against Monmouth
* has moved to attack from being a starting midfielder in 2020
* member of the U.S. U-21 team for the upcoming World Championships in Ireland

Andrew Song • Sr., LSM, No. 32
* fourth-year starting LSM
* also plays on face-off wings
* named to USILA Team of the Week after a four-caused turnover, three-ground ball performance against Georgetown
* has eight caused turnovers (tied for the team lead) and also has 10 ground balls
* tied for 11^th in Division I in caused turnovers per game
* played for China in the 2018 World Championships

Jacob Stoebner • Jr., D, No. 28
* veteran defender who has been either a starter or key reserve
* has one caused turnover
* had three ground balls against Georgetown
Jake Stevens • Jr., M, No. 14
* do-it-all midfielder who plays offense, defense and face-off wings
* has eight goals
* ranks fifth in Division I in shooting percentage (.571, 8 for 14)
* leads team with 15 ground balls
* had a goal and five ground balls against Georgetown
* had three goals against Monmouth and four goals against Binghamton

Alexander Vardaro • Jr., M, No. 19
* only starting midfielder from 2020 who is starting in midfield this year
* has five goals and an assist
* had two goals against Maryland
* had two assists against Georgetown
* team's second-leading career scorer (28-10-38)

Jack-Henry Vara • Sr., FO, No. 47
* returned from the Covid protocol to take all 29 face-offs against Maryland

Marquez White • So., SSDM, No. 24
* running as a first-line SSDM
* had caused turnover against Georgetown