Princeton Hosts Yale In The 108th Meeting Between The Two

Saturday, March 25

Princeton, N.J.

1:00 PM

Princeton University

Yale

Buy Tickets

Christian Ronda and the Tigers host Yale Saturday at 1.

Photo by: Beverly Schaefer

Princeton Hosts Yale In The 108th Meeting Between The Two

March 23, 2023 | Men's Lacrosse

PRINCETON (2-4, 0-1 Ivy League) vs. Yale (3-2, 0-1 Ivy League)
Saturday, March 25 • 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

Probable Princeton starters
Career highs
Career scoring/pronunciations

For the second straight week, the Princeton men's lacrosse team can't think back to a year ago. This time, that means the good and the bad.

Princeton and Yale meet a week after each team lost their Ivy League opener. This meeting comes one year after the teams played twice, with a 14-12 Yale regular season win in New Haven and then a 14-10 Princeton win in the NCAA quarterfinals at Hofstra.

Princeton vs. Yale
Five Storylines

A year ago
Yale's regular season win over Princeton was the Bulldogs' sixth straight over the Tigers, a streak that ended in the NCAA quarterfinal game. Alexander Vardaro had six goals between the two games (four in the loss, two in the win), the most by a Tiger, while Sam English had three to lead Princeton in the quarterfinal win.

Yale's Matt Brandau scored five goals and had three assists in the regular season win. Princeton then held Brandau to one goal and one assist in the 14-10 win in the NCAA quarterfinals.

Princeton won 18 of 28 face-offs in the game it lost, while Yale won 15 of 28 in the game it lost.

In goal
The one statistic in which both Princeton and Yale are in the national top 10 is saves per game, where Yale ranks third with 15.4 per game and Princeton ranks ninth with 14.83 per game. The difference is that Yale's Jared Paquette has played all but 2:30 for the season in goal, while Princeton split time with Griffen Rakower and Michael Gianforcaro before Gianforcaro played the entire game against Penn.

Princeton does not have a goalie who has ever played against Yale. Paquette played both games against Princeton a year ago, making 19 saves in the first game and 20 more in the second.

Gianforcaro made 10 saves while allowing six goals against Rutgers and then made 17 saves while allowing nine goals a week ago against Penn, with a save percentage between the two games of .643. For the season, Rakower has a .603 save percentage, Gianforcaro has a .565 save percentage and Paquette has a .543 save percentage.

Had they played the required number of minutes to be ranked in the national rankings, Rakower's save percentage would rank third and Gianforcaro's would rank 10^th.

A reminder
Princeton is 2-4, 0-1 in the Ivy League. The 2002 Princeton team also started 2-4, 0-1 in the league. Its next loss was in the NCAA championship game.

Clearing and Riding
Yale is leading the Ivy League and is seventh in Division I in opponent clearing percentage, at .789. Princeton has been clearing at a .889 rate, good for 18^th in Division I. Yale has a .839 clearing percentage.

The Bulldogs are also seventh in Division I in fewest turnovers per game, at 13.80. Princeton ranks 14^th, at 14.33 per game.

Princeton went 17 for 24 on clears and turned the ball over 23 times in its loss to Yale a year ago. Princeton then went 23 for 26 on clears while turning the ball over 16 times in the quarterfinal win.

The Ivy League
Princeton and Yale were two of six Ivy League teams who reached the NCAA tournament a year ago.

The 2023 Ivy season began a week ago, with two overtime games (Penn defeated Princeton 9-8, Harvard defeated Brown 15-14) and Cornell's 20-10 win over Yale. This week's schedule has Yale at Princeton, Harvard at Dartmouth and Penn at Cornell (Sunday). Brown is at UMass in the league's non-league game.

The home team was 14-7 in Ivy League games a year ago. A week ago, the home teams went 1-2.

Other notes
Alexander Vardaro needs eight points to become the 39^th player in program history to reach 100 career points … Princeton has lost its last two games in overtime, first to No. 6 Rutgers and then to No. 15 Penn. Before that, the last time Princeton had played back-to-back overtime games was in 2011, when the Tigers lost to Brown and beat Yale (in four OTs in the longest game in Princeton history). The last time Princeton played three straight OT games was with the 1996 NCAA championship game against Virginia and then the first two games in 1997 against Johns Hopkins and Virginia (the Tigers won all three) … Yale attackman Chris Lyons has 21 goals and no assists for the season; he had five goals and no assists against Princeton a year ago … Princeton has lost four straight. The last time Princeton has lost five straight was when it lost its first five games of the 2005 season … Princeton and Yale meet for the 108^th time, and Princeton leads the all-time series at 75-30-2. Princeton has played Yale more than any other team (Rutgers is next, at 99 times). Princeton and Yale first met on Oct. 14, 1882, and the teams met three times in the 1882-83 season, with scores of 2-1, 2-0 and 3-0, all Princeton wins. The teams met six times in the 1880s and have met at least one every year since 1923 other than 1943-46 and 2020-21. They've met four times in Ivy League tournament games and twice in the NCAA tournament. Princeton and Yale played eight straight one-goal games from 2011-17. Yale has won the last four since that streak ended by three, eight, five and two goals.

What can you say about? …

No. 0 Griffen Rakower (Sr., G)
* made his first five career starts and played the first half in all four games
* made 11 saves while allowing three goals in first half against Maryland
* also made 11 saves while allowing seven goals against Georgetown
* has a .603 save percentage that would be third in Division I (goalies must play two-thirds of their team's minutes to be ranked; he has played 50 percent)
* had six saves while allowing three goals against Monmouth
* had eight saves while allowing five goals against Manhattan

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

No. 3 Pace Billings (Jr, D)
* Tewaaraton Award watchlist
* started the first three games on close defense
* has missed the last three games due to injury
* has three caused turnovers and eight ground balls
* played mostly LSM last year, when he was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team

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 58 career goals, second on the team, two behind Alexander Vardaro
* has more than doubled his assists per game from last year to this year, from .65 to 1.4
* one of two Princeton players to start every game of his career (Ben Finlay)
* one of Princeton's captains

No. 6 Cathal Roberts (Sr., LSM)
* has been a starter on D and an LSM while also playing on face-off wings
* has a team-best six caused turnovers with 11 ground balls
* had three caused turnovers and three ground balls against Penn

No. 7 Luca Lazzaretto (Sr., LSM)
* has been a consistent LSM throughout his career

No. 10 Ben Finlay (Sr., D)
* has started every game of his career on defense
* has a caused turnover and 11 ground balls
* one of Princeton's captains

No. 11 Sean Cameron (So., M)
* second-line midfielder
* had a goal against Georgetown
* had a goal against Manhattan
* older brother Brian plays for Rutgers

No. 12 Christian Ronda (Sr., M)
* has six goals and five assists this season
* had three goals and an assist against Rutgers after having two goals and four assists the first four games combined
* scored the tying game goal with three minutes left against Penn
* had 23 goals a year ago, including six in the NCAA tournament

No. 13 Joe Juengerkes (Jr., SSDM)
* has three caused turnovers and two ground balls

No. 14 Jake Stevens (Sr., M)
* preseason second-team All-American
* plays midfield and face-off wings
* leads team in ground balls with 18
* second on the team with four caused turnovers
* has nine goals, four caused turnovers and 15 ground balls
* had three goals, five ground balls and three caused turnovers against Georgetown; no other Princeton player has ever achieved at least all three of those in a game
* had two goals against Penn
* 2022 honorable mention All-American

No. 15 Sam English (Sr., M)
* Tewaaaraton Award watchlist
* leads team with 10 assists
* had two goals and an assist against Penn
* tied the Rutgers game late in the fourth quarter to force overtime
* had 30 goals and 18 assists a year ago
* 2022 honorable mention All-American

No. 17 Michael Bath (So., LSM)
* plays LSM and on the face-off wings
* has four caused turnovers and six ground balls

No. 18 Luc Anderson (Sr., SSDM)
* one of the Tiger captains
* has two caused turnovers
* has been slowed by injuries most of his career

No. 19 Alexander Vardaro (Sr., A/M)
* second on the team with 13 goals and with 21 points
* had two goals and two assists against Rutgers in second start on attack
* had two goals and two assists against Penn as well
* had five goals against Monmouth and four against Manhattan
* first Princeton 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 62 goals and 92 points

No. 21 Tommy Barnds (Jr., M)
* started as a midfielder against Georgetown and had a goal
* had a goal against Monmouth

No. 23 Beau Pederson (Sr., SSDM)
* preseason first-team All-American
* one of Princeton's captains
* had two caused turnovers against Maryland
* had two caused turnovers and three ground balls against Penn
* third-team All-American a year ago

No. 24 Marquez White (Jr., SSDM)
* first line defensive midfielder
* has three caused turnovers and five ground balls

No. 27 Michael Gianforcaro (Jr., G)
* made first career start against Penn and made a career-high 17 saves
* started the second half of the first five games
* made 10 saves while allowing five goals against Rutgers
* has made at least five saves in all five games
* had six saves against Georgetown
* 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

No. 28 Jacob Stoebner (Sr., D)
* veteran defenseman who is part of the regular rotation
* started against Rutgers and Penn
* had a caused turnover against Penn

No. 32 Andrew McMeekin (Fr., FO)
* has won 7 of 14 face-offs on the season
* won 5 of 9 face-offs against Monmouth

No. 35 Tyler Sandoval (Jr., FO)
* has won 48 of 105 face-offs
* has 16 ground balls
* had an assist against Manhattan five seconds after another Princeton goal (it was the shortest elapsed time between goals in Princeton history)

No. 36 Braedon Saris (So., A)
* starter 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
* missed the the last three games due to injury

No. 39 Weston Carpenter (Sr., M)
* has four goals this year, with one against Rutgers, Maryland, Manhattan and Monmouth
* had an assist against Penn
* did not have a goal in his career prior to this season

No. 43 Colin Mulshine (So., D)
* starter on defense
* has three caused turnovers and seven ground balls
* had two caused turnovers against Georgetown
* started 11 games as a freshman, including the final nine

No. 50 Liam Fairback (So., SSDM)
* converted offensive midfielder who is in the regular defensive midfield rotation
* had first career caused turnover in the game against Rutgers

No. 91 Coulter Mackesy (So., A)
* leads team with 19 goals and 25 points
* had at least three goals in the first five games before having one against Penn
* ranks 15th in Division I in goals per game (3.1)
* first Princeton player with at least three goals in five or more games since Gavin McBride did it twice (2016, 2017)
* was the first Princeton player since Gerry Ronon in 1982 to have at least 15 goals in the first four games
* has more games with at least three goals (eight) than fewer than three (five) in his last 13 games
* tied career highs with five goals and six points against Georgetown
* had three goals and three assists against Rutgers
* 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

No. 99 Koby Ginder (So., FO)
* is 20 for 37 on face-offs for the season
* has won 9 of 17 against Maryland, Georgetown, Rutgers and Penn
* won 8 of 12 face-offs against Manhattan with five ground balls