Defense Powers Princeton Past BU 12-5, Into NCAA Quarterfinals Against Yale

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Boston University looked like it had a layup. Colin Mulshine dove, fully extended, all 6-3 of him, and got just enough of the stick to stop that chance. Boston University then looked like it had an open look from about 10 yards out. George Baughan then turned from lacrosse defenseman to hockey defenseman, diving on the ground to absorb the shot with his body.

Princeton gave away nothing on this day.

A defensive unit that at one point not that long ago gave up 28 goals in 66 minutes between two games and then had to spend two weeks thinking about it rebounded in a way that can best be described as, what? Flawless? Overwhelming? Astonishing? History-making?

Princeton's defense, which had allowed 37 goals in its last two games, turned in a performance that was up there with any that the great Tiger teams have ever done in the NCAA tournament. The result was a convincing 12-5 win over Boston University in the opening round of the tournament, advancing the Tigers into the quarterfinals this coming Saturday against Yale at either noon or 2:30 at Hofstra.

The five goals allowed were the second-fewest Princeton has allowed in 45 NCAA tournament games. Chris Brown tied the program record for assists in an NCAA game with five, equalling Kevin Lowe and Jon Hess.

To understand just how amazing Princeton's defense was, you first have to consider where the Tigers were heading into this one, and who the opponent's attack was. First, there was Princeton's recent history, which consisted of a 19-16 loss to Harvard and an 18-15 loss to Cornell to end the regular season. There was a stretch of those two games in which Princeton went from up 9-4 against Harvard in the second quarter to down 13-5 to Cornell early in the third, that span of 66 minutes where 28 goals were scored.

Because of those losses, Princeton missed last week's Ivy League tournament, but because the Tigers had four wins over seeded teams in the tournament, they drew the fifth seed for the tournament. Princeton was making its first NCAA appearance since 2012 and had not won a game in the tournament since 2009, but this is also a program with six NCAA championships and 10 Final Fours on its resume.

The opponent was BU, a team Princeton had defeated 12-7 back on April 9. This was also a BU team that averaged 13.8 goals per game coming into the game, and this was also a BU team with the nation's highest scoring attack, a unit that had combined for 214 points this season prior to this game. The Terriers' Timmy Ley had the nation's longest streak of consecutive games with at least one goal at 38, and another attackman, Vince D'Alta, was fourth with 29 straight.

So what happened? BU's attack was held without a goal or an assist. Princeton's defense actually outscored the BU attack 1-0 as longstick midfielder Pace Billings scored one in transition. The third Boston U attackman, Louis Perfetto, was held without a point for only the second time in his career, both of them against Baughan.

It was a dominant performance. Princeton held BU to 0 for 6 in extra man situations, including attempts while the Terriers were two men up for a minute, had Princeton in a one-minute non-releasable situation and another where Princeton was man down for 90 seconds.

Princeton forced 15 turnovers. The Tigers had a 50-29 edge in ground balls. When needed, goalie Erik Peters was sharp, with 15 saves. Nothing that BU did went unnoticed, as Princeton swarmed everywhere. Head coach Matt Madalon and defensive coordinator Jeremy Hirsch went deeper in the defensive rotation and got huge performances across the board, from starters Mulshine, Baughan and Finlay and backups Cathal Roberts and Jacob Stoebner.

Everyone on the defensive side of the board contributed. Billings had his best day. So did shortstick defensive midfielder Luke Crimmins (three of the caused turnovers). Crimmins' fellow SSDM Beau Pederson was his usual physical self. It was dominant.

Elsewhere, Princeton got three goals each from Sam English (who had Princeton's first again, for the seventh time in 14 games this year), Alex Slusher and Christian Ronda, while Chris Brown had the five assists, giving him the wild stat line through two games against BU of: 0 goals, 13 turnovers, 12 assists.

Tyler Sandoval also had his best day for Princeton, winning 15 of 18 face-offs with six ground balls as the Tigers dominated possession. Princeton led 4-0 at the end of the first quarter and 6-2 at halftime, and BU never got closer than that in the second half.

With that win, Princeton could look ahead to the quarterfinals. This is the time of year where defense wins. A team that struggled as April came to a close was simply dominant in its first game in May.

It may have come a week later than the Tigers wanted, but it was certainly one to remember — but only briefly, as this is also the time of year where the page needs to be turned quickly.

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