Trailing after only one minute of play, the men's lacrosse team found its streak of Ivy perfection that had taken four hard seasons to build in jeopardy.
Princeton's seniors, however, were not about to let the league doormat snap a career's worth of work.
The Tigers (9-2 overall, 6-0 Ivy League) scored nine consecutive goals and then held on to defeat Dartmouth (5-8, 0-5) 10-7, in Hanover, N.H. The win marked Princeton's 31st consecutive Ivy League win — and the 24th for the team's seniors, who will graduate having never lost an Ivy game in their four years wearing orange and black.
"The Ivy League championship is always our first goal, and it's always special," senior midfielder and captain Chris Berrier said. "It's not something we'd ever take for granted."
Though the Tigers had already clinched the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament with a win over Cornell the previous weekend, the Dartmouth game was not lacking in importance. Aside from maintaining the Ivy winning streak, Princeton needed a victory to help improve its chances of earning a first round bye for the tournament, which begins May 13.
The Big Green got on the board in the initial seconds after the opening faceoff when Georges Dyer took a pass from Jeremy Desor and slotted the ball in the back of the Tiger net. Unfortunately for Dartmouth, men's lacrosse games are 60 minutes long — not 60 seconds.
The Tiger defense clamped down on Dartmouth for the next three periods, not allowing another goal until the one-minute, 26-second mark of the fourth quarter — a span of over 45 scoreless minutes.
Defensive standouts
Anchored by the solid play of its defensemen, junior Ryan Mollett, sophomore Scott Farrell and freshman Damien Davis, Princeton hounded the Big Green attackmen while swatting away several Dartmouth passes.
"I thought defensively we played very well," head coach Bill Tierney said. "Ryan Mollett was just great out there. He led our team. Ryan put the ball on the ground for us."
The few opportunities Dartmouth had offensively were easily handled by junior goaltender Trevor Tierney. The Tiger netminder was instrumental in continuing the home side's long scoring drought in the middle of the game. His Big Green counterpart between the pipes, Patrick McClammer, also played a solid game — making 18 saves while allowing 10 goals.
Mollett also contributed on the offensive end for Princeton. Five minutes after Dartmouth opened the scoring, Mollett picked up a loose ball in the Tigers' end of the field and proceeded to clear the ball upfield. Mollett, who has tried to score on several occasions throughout the season, found an opening in the Dartmouth defense, faked once and beat McClammer with his offhand.
Despite the absence of its leading goal-scorer — sophomore attackman B.J. Prager, who was lost for the season with a knee injury April 22 — Princeton shined offensively. Freshman attackman Sean Hartofilis, who started in place of Prager, sophomore Brendan Tierney and senior captain and midfielder Josh Sims each scored two goals for the Tigers.
Late in the game, with a secure eight-goal lead in hand, coach Tierney put in his reserves to give them some hard-earned playing time. They did not rise to the occasion, however, as a tenacious Dartmouth squad scored five unanswered goals to pull within three at the final whistle.
Read More
By the Numbers: Women’s water polo seniors end strong and track records set
Harrison BlankThis week in By the Numbers, women's track and field shined down in Virginia and the Tigers clinched some conference regular season championships. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over two-thirds of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
This week in By the Numbers, women's track and field shined down in Virginia and the Tigers clinched some conference regular season championships. Amid these accomplishments, the Tigers won over two-thirds of their games and had winning records both at home and on the road.
No. 2 men’s lacrosse overcomes slow start to defeat Penn, 12–8
Hayk YengibaryanThe Tigers’ 10–2 start is their best start to a season since 2009.
The Tigers’ 10–2 start is their best start to a season since 2009.
Women’s lacrosse earns regular season Ivy title after defeating Brown on senior day
Leila Eshaghpour-SilbermanPrinceton women’s lacrosse became regular season Ivy League champions for the first time since 2022.
Princeton women’s lacrosse became regular season Ivy League champions for the first time since 2022.