Gianforcaro Named Ivy Defensive Player Of The Week

Ready for some shocking news: Michael Gianforcaro has been named the Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Week.

Okay, maybe it's not shocking. Maybe "inevitable" would have been a better choice. How could he not have won?

Gianforcaro, Princeton's senior goalie, would have been a strong candidate had he never crossed the midline, as he made 15 saves in a huge 15-10 win over Penn, a result that kept Princeton solidly in position for the Ivy League tournament and prevented Penn from winning a share of the Ivy title. That whole "crossing the midline" thing? That's when he went from strong candidate to can't miss.

Penn had been on a modest 3-1 run to cut the lead to three with four minutes remaining. The ensuing face-off made its way back to Gianforcaro, who then took it across midfield, accelerated as he neared the top of the box and then backhanded it past Emmet Carroll into the Quaker goal. It was Princeton's first goalie goal since Alex Hewit in 2008.

Gianforcaro, the Most Outstanding Player at last year's Ivy League tournament, was named the Ivy Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this year. He and the Tigers are at Yale Saturday at noon, where a win (or a Brown loss at Harvard) would give Princeton a spot in the ILT.

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