Saturday, April 2
Providence, R.I.
12:00 PM
Princeton University
6-2 (2-1Ivy)
17
at
9
Brown
5-4 (0-2Ivy)
1
2
3
4
F
Princeton
4
3
6
4
17
Brown
2
3
3
1
9
Team Stats
PRIN
BRWN
Shots
42
45
Turnovers
12
14
Caused Turnovers
5
7
Faceoffs Won
13
17
Extra-Man Opps
2
5
Ground Balls
32
28
Game Leaders
G
6
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
3
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
2
A
3
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
1-30
GB
5
CT
0
Players Mentioned
Attack
/ Men's LacrosseAttack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Defense
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Men's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
FO
/ Men's LacrosseAttack
/ Men's LacrosseMidfield
/ Men's LacrosseMidfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Alex Slusher had six goals in a 17-9 win over Brown.
Photo by: Erica Denhoff
Defense, Slusher Lead No. 6 Princeton To 17-9 Win Over Brown
April 02, 2022 | Men's Lacrosse
There really are no stats that tell the story of what the Princeton men's lacrosse defense did Saturday afternoon against Brown. No caused turnovers. Not shots allowed. Not even saves, even if Erik Peters had a bunch of them again (15 to be exact). Nothing.
This was intangible. This was contesting everything, making no possession easy. This was a blanket thrown over an offense, and it was done on a day that the Tigers needed to do so most, on a field that has been ridiculously unkind.
The final was Princeton 17, Brown 9. While Peters and his defense did their thing Alex Slusher did his, putting up a career-high six goals to lead Princeton. Alexander Vardaro (3G, 2A) and Chris Brown (2G, 3A) had five-point days themselves.
Princeton, ranked sixth this week, is now 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, with a quick turnaround to a home game Tuesday at 7 against Marist. Brown is now 5-4, 0-2 in the league.
The win came one week after the Tigers had their first Ivy League loss, and more than that, it came against a team that had pretty much single-handedly doomed Princeton's 2019 season. And 2018 season. And 2017 season. It also came on a field where the Tigers hadn't beaten Brown since 2012.
Would this be more of the same from Brown? Would it be another season where this game was the turning point?
If there was uncertainty for the Tigers heading into the game, it never showed. Brown got off to leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but it was all Princeton after that. Jake Stevens tied it at 2-2, and then Alex Slusher scored two goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter to put Princeton up for good.
Each time Brown made a move in the second quarter, Princeton answered, including when Tyler Sandoval answered a Bear goal that made it 5-3 with a goal straight from the face-off five seconds later. Each time Princeton tried to pull away, though, Brown hung around. It was 7-5 at the break and even though Princeton had the better of it, the game was still very much up for grabs.
There were 304 shots in Princeton's last three games. This time, there were what seemed like a mild 87, 42 of which were by the Tigers, who shot .405 as a team. Princeton had a small edge in ground balls. Brown had a small edge in face-offs.
Ultimately, though, this wasn't a game of stats. This was if not quite a "must-win" game for Princeton then something of an "it would be really good to win" game.
A defense that really didn't have much in the way of stats came away with the one big stat that mattered.
This was intangible. This was contesting everything, making no possession easy. This was a blanket thrown over an offense, and it was done on a day that the Tigers needed to do so most, on a field that has been ridiculously unkind.
The final was Princeton 17, Brown 9. While Peters and his defense did their thing Alex Slusher did his, putting up a career-high six goals to lead Princeton. Alexander Vardaro (3G, 2A) and Chris Brown (2G, 3A) had five-point days themselves.
Colin Mulshine and Erik Peters with big performances in the first half. pic.twitter.com/sMd24OpTYj
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) April 2, 2022
Princeton, ranked sixth this week, is now 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League, with a quick turnaround to a home game Tuesday at 7 against Marist. Brown is now 5-4, 0-2 in the league.
The win came one week after the Tigers had their first Ivy League loss, and more than that, it came against a team that had pretty much single-handedly doomed Princeton's 2019 season. And 2018 season. And 2017 season. It also came on a field where the Tigers hadn't beaten Brown since 2012.
Would this be more of the same from Brown? Would it be another season where this game was the turning point?
If there was uncertainty for the Tigers heading into the game, it never showed. Brown got off to leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but it was all Princeton after that. Jake Stevens tied it at 2-2, and then Alex Slusher scored two goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter to put Princeton up for good.
Each time Brown made a move in the second quarter, Princeton answered, including when Tyler Sandoval answered a Bear goal that made it 5-3 with a goal straight from the face-off five seconds later. Each time Princeton tried to pull away, though, Brown hung around. It was 7-5 at the break and even though Princeton had the better of it, the game was still very much up for grabs.
That was until the first nine-plus minutes of the third quarter. That's when Princeton salted away the game, scoring six straight, four of which came from Slusher, with one each from Vardaro and Tommy Barnds. By the it was 13-5, and even after Brown scored the last three of the quarter, it got no closer than five in the fourth. Princeton also got single goals from Coulter Mackesy and Christian Ronda.Alex Slusher with his sixth of the day, off the soft feed from Alexander Vardaro, who now has an assist to go with three goals. 13-5 Tigers. pic.twitter.com/jTWsoOkdLm
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) April 2, 2022
There were 304 shots in Princeton's last three games. This time, there were what seemed like a mild 87, 42 of which were by the Tigers, who shot .405 as a team. Princeton had a small edge in ground balls. Brown had a small edge in face-offs.
Ultimately, though, this wasn't a game of stats. This was if not quite a "must-win" game for Princeton then something of an "it would be really good to win" game.
A defense that really didn't have much in the way of stats came away with the one big stat that mattered.
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