Saturday, March 4
Princeton, N.J.
1:00 PM
Princeton University
vs
Georgetown
Photo by: Shelley M. Szwast
No. 5 Princeton Hosts Georgetown Saturday
March 02, 2023 | Men's Lacrosse
PRINCETON (2-1) vs. GEORGETOWN (0-3)
Saturday, March 4 • 1 p.m.
Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium • Princeton, N.J.
ESPN+
In-game Twitter updates (@tigerlacrosse)
ESPN+ | International Video Stream
Live Stats
Tickets
Princeton Laxcast With Matt Madalon And Chris Aslanian
Probable Princeton starters
Career highs
Career scoring/pronunciations
The Princeton men's lacrosse team is in the same place as it was 52 weeks ago. Its opponent this weekend is not, and that makes this a different, and possibly more difficult, task than the one of a year ago.
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When Princeton hosts Georgetown on Sherrerd Field, it will be taking on a team who is looking to reverse its 0-3 start and a team that when at its best is as good as any in the country.
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Princeton vs. Georgetown
Five Storylines
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Like a year ago
Princeton began the 2022 season with two wins in the first four days of the season and then lost to Maryland the following Saturday. After that, Princeton defeated Georgetown 10-8.
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This season has begun with the same two wins and a loss to Maryland. Georgetown, though, is not unbeaten (in fact, the loss to Princeton was the Hoyas only regular season loss a year ago). These Hoyas are 0-3, with losses to No. 15 Johns Hopkins, No. 10 Penn and No. 2 Notre Dame.
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At the same time, Georgetown was ranked in the top three of every preseason poll, and the team features five preseason All-Americans and three Tewaaraton Award watchlist selections.
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Also from a year ago
Princeton defeated Georgetown 10-8 a year ago. Of Princeton's 10 goals, nine of them were scored by three players who are still Tigers: Alex Slusher had five, Sam English had three and Jake Stevens had one. The other goal was scored by the graduated Luke Crimmins.
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Georgetown's James Reilly won 16 of 22 face-offs in the game a year ago. He is currently at .534 this season. Princeton as a team has won one more than it's lost (41-40); the last time Princeton was over 50 percent for a season was 2012.
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In goal
Princeton's Erik Peters made 17 saves in last year's 10-8 win, and Georgetown's Owen McElroy made 15 of his own. Both of those goalies have graduated.
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Princeton has been using two goalies this season, with Griffen Rakower in the first half and Michael Gianforcaro in the second. Georgetown's starter has been Daniel Hinks, and he is no stranger to the Tigers. Hinks was Dartmouth's goalie prior to this, and he was the second-team All-Ivy goalie a year ago.
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Against Princeton a year ago, Hinks made 15 saves in a 12-10 loss.
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Scoring offense
Princeton has been in double figures in scoring in 30 of its last 32 games, with the only exceptions the 2022 NCAA semifinal against Maryland and last week's game against Maryland. Princeton was held to one goal in the first half a week ago, which was the lowest total since being shut out in the first half against Dartmouth in 2016. Only once since Matt Madalon has been head coach has Princeton been held below double figures in two straight games (2018 vs. Penn and Yale).
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Series history
Princeton and Georgetown meet for the second straight season but only the seventh time overall. Princeton leads the series 6-1, including last year's 10-8 victory in Washington, D.C. The lone Georgetown win came in the 2006 NCAA tournament, when the Hoyas defeated Princeton 9-8 in overtime on a goal on the first possession by Brendan Cannon.Â
The teams also played games in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996 and 2002 – all Princeton wins. The 2002 game was a 14-13 Tiger win in the NCAA quarterfinals, where Ryan Boyle snapped a tie game with the deciding goal with four seconds left.
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This is also Georgetown's third time playing the Tigers in Princeton and first since a very rainy day in 1996, when Princeton won 13-2 in the only game the teams have played on Sherrerd Field. The other game between the teams in Princeton was in 1990, when Princeton won 17-3 on Finney Field.
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Other notes
Princeton set a program record with 17 caused turnovers against Georgetown a year ago; Ben Finlay had four of those CTs … Alex Slusher had his streak of consecutive games with at least one goal end at 21 straight a week ago; it was the eighth-longest streak in Princeton history … Matt Madalon is fifth all-time at Princeton with 44 victories as head coach, five behind Bill Logan for fourth and nine behind Chris Bates for third; Madalon's .629 career winning percentage (44-26) trails only Bill Tierney among Princeton coaches for the last 73 years … Princeton has the same starting defense and same starting midfield as it did in the game at Georgetown last year … Coulter Mackesy has more games with three or more goals (six) than with less than three (four) in his last 10 games ... Princeton is ranked fifth in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and USILA coaches' poll and sixth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine/Nike poll ... Georgetown's Griffen Aslanian is the brother of Princeton assistant coach Chris Aslanian, and Georgetown's Henry Caponiti is the brother of Princeton's Harrison Caponiti.
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What can you say about? …
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No. 0 Griffen Rakower (Sr., G)
* made his first three career starts and played the first half in all three games
* made 11 saves while allowing three goals in first half against Maryland
* .694 save percentage would lead Division I (goalies must play two-thirds of their teams minutes to be ranked)
* had six saves while allowing three goals against Monmouth
* had eight saves while allowing five goals against Manhattan
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No. 2 Chad Palumbo (Fr., M)
* had two goals in his first game, against Monmouth
* became the seventh player to play for Matt Madalon who had two goals in the first game of his freshman year, along with: Michael Sowers, Phillip Robertson and Chris Brown and current players Alexander Vardaro, Alex Slusher and Coulter Mackesy
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No. 3 Pace Billings (Jr, D)
* Tewaaraton Award watchlist
* has started the first three games on close defense
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
* leads Princeton longsticks with six ground balls
* played mostly LSM last year, when he was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team
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No. 5 Alex Slusher (Sr., A)
* had a streak of at least one goal in 21 straight games snapped against Maryland; streak is eighth longest in program history
* has 56 career goals, second on the team, two behind Alexander Vardaro
* one of Princeton's captains
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No. 6 Cathal Roberts (Sr., LSM)
* has been a starter on D and an LSM while also playing on face-off wings
* has two caused turnovers and five ground balls
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No. 7 Luca Lazzaretto (Sr., LSM)
* has been a consistent LSM throughout his career
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No. 10 Ben Finlay (Sr., D)
* has started every game of his career on defense
* had four caused turnovers against Georgetown last year
* one of Princeton's captains
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No. 11 Sean Cameron (So., M)
* second-line midfielder
* had a goal against Manhattan
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No. 12 Christian Ronda (Sr., M)
* has two goals and four assists this season
* has twice as many assists this season in three games than he did a year ago in 16
* has started every game the last two seasons
* had 23 goals a year ago, including six in the NCAA tournament
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No. 13 Joe Juengerkes (Jr., SSDM)
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
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No. 14 Jake Stevens (Sr., M)
* preseason second-team All-American
* plays on the second midfield and face-off wings
* had three goals and team best nine ground balls
* 2022 honorable mention All-American
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No. 15 Sam English (Sr., M)
* Tewaaaraton Award watchlist
* has a goal and six assists through three games
* had 30 goals and 18 assists a year ago
* 2022 honorable mention All-American
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No. 17 Michael Bath (So., LSM)
* plays LSM and on the face-off wings
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
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No. 18 Luc Anderson (Sr., SSDM)
* one of the Tiger captains
* has been slowed by injuries most of his career
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No. 19 Alexander Vardaro (Sr., M)
* second on the team with nine goals
* had five goals against Monmouth and four against Manhattan
* first player in 29 years to have at least nine goals in the first two games of a season (Scott Reinhardt in 1993)
* Princeton's leading career scorer with 58 goals and 82 points
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No. 21 Tommy Barnds (Jr., M)
* second-line midfielder
* had a goal against Monmouth
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No. 23 Beau Pederson (Sr., SSDM)
* preseason first-team All-American
* one of Princeton's captains
* third-team All-American a year ago
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No. 24 Marquez White (Jr., SSDM)
* first line defensive midfielder
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No. 27 Michael Gianforcaro (Jr., G)
* has made five saves in all three games
* has started the second half of every game
* made three of his five saves against Manhattan in the first four minutes of the third quarter, when Princeton went from down a goal to start an 8-2 run that led to a 14-9 win
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No. 28 Jacob Stoebner (Sr., D)
* veteran defenseman who is part of the regular rotation
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No. 32 Andrew McMeekin (Fr., FO)
* has won 6 of 12 face-offs on the season
* went 1 for 3 against Maryland
* won 5 of 9 face-offs against Monmouth
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No. 35 Tyler Sandoval (Jr., FO)
* has won 24 of 47 face-offs (.511)
* has eight ground balls
* had an assist against Manhattan five seconds after another Princeton goal (it was the shortest elapsed time between goals in Princeton history)
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No. 36 Braedon Saris (So., A)
* starting on attack after playing in two games a year ago, with one assist
* had three goals and three assists against Monmouth
* had a goal and two assists against Manhattan
* had an assist against Maryland
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No. 39 Weston Carpenter (Sr., M)
* has a goal in each of the first three games
* did not have a goal in his career prior to this season
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No. 43 Colin Mulshine (So., D)
* starter on defense
* started 11 games as a freshman, including the final nine
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No. 50 Liam Fairback (So., SSDM)
* converted offensive midfielder who is in the regular defensive midfield rotation
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No. 91 Coulter Mackesy (So., A)
* leads team with 10 goals and 12 points
* had three of Princeton's five goals against Maryland
* had four goals and two assists against Monmouth
* had three goals against Manhattan
* had 28 goals and 15 assists a year ago; his 43 points were the fourth-most ever by a Princeton freshman, behind only Michael Sowers, Kevin Lowe and Ryan Boyle
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No. 99 Koby Ginder (So., FO)
* is 11 for 21 on face-offs for the season
* won 8 of 12 face-offs against Manhattan with five ground balls
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Saturday, March 4 • 1 p.m.
Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium • Princeton, N.J.
ESPN+
In-game Twitter updates (@tigerlacrosse)
ESPN+ | International Video Stream
Live Stats
Tickets
Princeton Laxcast With Matt Madalon And Chris Aslanian
Probable Princeton starters
Career highs
Career scoring/pronunciations
The Princeton men's lacrosse team is in the same place as it was 52 weeks ago. Its opponent this weekend is not, and that makes this a different, and possibly more difficult, task than the one of a year ago.
Â
When Princeton hosts Georgetown on Sherrerd Field, it will be taking on a team who is looking to reverse its 0-3 start and a team that when at its best is as good as any in the country.
Â
Princeton vs. Georgetown
Five Storylines
Â
Like a year ago
Princeton began the 2022 season with two wins in the first four days of the season and then lost to Maryland the following Saturday. After that, Princeton defeated Georgetown 10-8.
Â
This season has begun with the same two wins and a loss to Maryland. Georgetown, though, is not unbeaten (in fact, the loss to Princeton was the Hoyas only regular season loss a year ago). These Hoyas are 0-3, with losses to No. 15 Johns Hopkins, No. 10 Penn and No. 2 Notre Dame.
Â
At the same time, Georgetown was ranked in the top three of every preseason poll, and the team features five preseason All-Americans and three Tewaaraton Award watchlist selections.
Â
Also from a year ago
Princeton defeated Georgetown 10-8 a year ago. Of Princeton's 10 goals, nine of them were scored by three players who are still Tigers: Alex Slusher had five, Sam English had three and Jake Stevens had one. The other goal was scored by the graduated Luke Crimmins.
Â
Georgetown's James Reilly won 16 of 22 face-offs in the game a year ago. He is currently at .534 this season. Princeton as a team has won one more than it's lost (41-40); the last time Princeton was over 50 percent for a season was 2012.
Â
In goal
Princeton's Erik Peters made 17 saves in last year's 10-8 win, and Georgetown's Owen McElroy made 15 of his own. Both of those goalies have graduated.
Â
Princeton has been using two goalies this season, with Griffen Rakower in the first half and Michael Gianforcaro in the second. Georgetown's starter has been Daniel Hinks, and he is no stranger to the Tigers. Hinks was Dartmouth's goalie prior to this, and he was the second-team All-Ivy goalie a year ago.
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Against Princeton a year ago, Hinks made 15 saves in a 12-10 loss.
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Scoring offense
Princeton has been in double figures in scoring in 30 of its last 32 games, with the only exceptions the 2022 NCAA semifinal against Maryland and last week's game against Maryland. Princeton was held to one goal in the first half a week ago, which was the lowest total since being shut out in the first half against Dartmouth in 2016. Only once since Matt Madalon has been head coach has Princeton been held below double figures in two straight games (2018 vs. Penn and Yale).
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Series history
Princeton and Georgetown meet for the second straight season but only the seventh time overall. Princeton leads the series 6-1, including last year's 10-8 victory in Washington, D.C. The lone Georgetown win came in the 2006 NCAA tournament, when the Hoyas defeated Princeton 9-8 in overtime on a goal on the first possession by Brendan Cannon.Â
The teams also played games in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996 and 2002 – all Princeton wins. The 2002 game was a 14-13 Tiger win in the NCAA quarterfinals, where Ryan Boyle snapped a tie game with the deciding goal with four seconds left.
Â
This is also Georgetown's third time playing the Tigers in Princeton and first since a very rainy day in 1996, when Princeton won 13-2 in the only game the teams have played on Sherrerd Field. The other game between the teams in Princeton was in 1990, when Princeton won 17-3 on Finney Field.
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Other notes
Princeton set a program record with 17 caused turnovers against Georgetown a year ago; Ben Finlay had four of those CTs … Alex Slusher had his streak of consecutive games with at least one goal end at 21 straight a week ago; it was the eighth-longest streak in Princeton history … Matt Madalon is fifth all-time at Princeton with 44 victories as head coach, five behind Bill Logan for fourth and nine behind Chris Bates for third; Madalon's .629 career winning percentage (44-26) trails only Bill Tierney among Princeton coaches for the last 73 years … Princeton has the same starting defense and same starting midfield as it did in the game at Georgetown last year … Coulter Mackesy has more games with three or more goals (six) than with less than three (four) in his last 10 games ... Princeton is ranked fifth in the Inside Lacrosse media poll and USILA coaches' poll and sixth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine/Nike poll ... Georgetown's Griffen Aslanian is the brother of Princeton assistant coach Chris Aslanian, and Georgetown's Henry Caponiti is the brother of Princeton's Harrison Caponiti.
Â
What can you say about? …
Â
No. 0 Griffen Rakower (Sr., G)
* made his first three career starts and played the first half in all three games
* made 11 saves while allowing three goals in first half against Maryland
* .694 save percentage would lead Division I (goalies must play two-thirds of their teams minutes to be ranked)
* had six saves while allowing three goals against Monmouth
* had eight saves while allowing five goals against Manhattan
Â
No. 2 Chad Palumbo (Fr., M)
* had two goals in his first game, against Monmouth
* became the seventh player to play for Matt Madalon who had two goals in the first game of his freshman year, along with: Michael Sowers, Phillip Robertson and Chris Brown and current players Alexander Vardaro, Alex Slusher and Coulter Mackesy
Â
No. 3 Pace Billings (Jr, D)
* Tewaaraton Award watchlist
* has started the first three games on close defense
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
* leads Princeton longsticks with six ground balls
* played mostly LSM last year, when he was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team
Â
No. 5 Alex Slusher (Sr., A)
* had a streak of at least one goal in 21 straight games snapped against Maryland; streak is eighth longest in program history
* has 56 career goals, second on the team, two behind Alexander Vardaro
* one of Princeton's captains
Â
No. 6 Cathal Roberts (Sr., LSM)
* has been a starter on D and an LSM while also playing on face-off wings
* has two caused turnovers and five ground balls
Â
No. 7 Luca Lazzaretto (Sr., LSM)
* has been a consistent LSM throughout his career
Â
No. 10 Ben Finlay (Sr., D)
* has started every game of his career on defense
* had four caused turnovers against Georgetown last year
* one of Princeton's captains
Â
No. 11 Sean Cameron (So., M)
* second-line midfielder
* had a goal against Manhattan
Â
No. 12 Christian Ronda (Sr., M)
* has two goals and four assists this season
* has twice as many assists this season in three games than he did a year ago in 16
* has started every game the last two seasons
* had 23 goals a year ago, including six in the NCAA tournament
Â
No. 13 Joe Juengerkes (Jr., SSDM)
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
Â
No. 14 Jake Stevens (Sr., M)
* preseason second-team All-American
* plays on the second midfield and face-off wings
* had three goals and team best nine ground balls
* 2022 honorable mention All-American
Â
No. 15 Sam English (Sr., M)
* Tewaaaraton Award watchlist
* has a goal and six assists through three games
* had 30 goals and 18 assists a year ago
* 2022 honorable mention All-American
Â
No. 17 Michael Bath (So., LSM)
* plays LSM and on the face-off wings
* tied for team lead with three caused turnovers
Â
No. 18 Luc Anderson (Sr., SSDM)
* one of the Tiger captains
* has been slowed by injuries most of his career
Â
No. 19 Alexander Vardaro (Sr., M)
* second on the team with nine goals
* had five goals against Monmouth and four against Manhattan
* first player in 29 years to have at least nine goals in the first two games of a season (Scott Reinhardt in 1993)
* Princeton's leading career scorer with 58 goals and 82 points
Â
No. 21 Tommy Barnds (Jr., M)
* second-line midfielder
* had a goal against Monmouth
Â
No. 23 Beau Pederson (Sr., SSDM)
* preseason first-team All-American
* one of Princeton's captains
* third-team All-American a year ago
Â
No. 24 Marquez White (Jr., SSDM)
* first line defensive midfielder
Â
No. 27 Michael Gianforcaro (Jr., G)
* has made five saves in all three games
* has started the second half of every game
* made three of his five saves against Manhattan in the first four minutes of the third quarter, when Princeton went from down a goal to start an 8-2 run that led to a 14-9 win
Â
No. 28 Jacob Stoebner (Sr., D)
* veteran defenseman who is part of the regular rotation
Â
No. 32 Andrew McMeekin (Fr., FO)
* has won 6 of 12 face-offs on the season
* went 1 for 3 against Maryland
* won 5 of 9 face-offs against Monmouth
Â
No. 35 Tyler Sandoval (Jr., FO)
* has won 24 of 47 face-offs (.511)
* has eight ground balls
* had an assist against Manhattan five seconds after another Princeton goal (it was the shortest elapsed time between goals in Princeton history)
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No. 36 Braedon Saris (So., A)
* starting on attack after playing in two games a year ago, with one assist
* had three goals and three assists against Monmouth
* had a goal and two assists against Manhattan
* had an assist against Maryland
Â
No. 39 Weston Carpenter (Sr., M)
* has a goal in each of the first three games
* did not have a goal in his career prior to this season
Â
No. 43 Colin Mulshine (So., D)
* starter on defense
* started 11 games as a freshman, including the final nine
Â
No. 50 Liam Fairback (So., SSDM)
* converted offensive midfielder who is in the regular defensive midfield rotation
Â
No. 91 Coulter Mackesy (So., A)
* leads team with 10 goals and 12 points
* had three of Princeton's five goals against Maryland
* had four goals and two assists against Monmouth
* had three goals against Manhattan
* had 28 goals and 15 assists a year ago; his 43 points were the fourth-most ever by a Princeton freshman, behind only Michael Sowers, Kevin Lowe and Ryan Boyle
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No. 99 Koby Ginder (So., FO)
* is 11 for 21 on face-offs for the season
* won 8 of 12 face-offs against Manhattan with five ground balls
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Players Mentioned
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Goalie
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Defense
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Attack
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FO
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Attack
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