Men's Lacrosse: OT loss continues slow start

On Saturday, the Tigers (1-5 overall, 0-2 Ivy League) faced No. 19 Yale (5-1, 1-1) at Class of 1952 Stadium in the middle of a tough stretch against ranked opponents. Princeton built a 6-2 lead midway through the third period, but the Bulldogs closed the frame with a furious scoring rally and tied the game in the fourth quarter. The Tigers responded with another goal, but Yale answered with their own in the closing minutes and finished off Princeton in the opening seconds of overtime.

“We’re finding ways to lose games,” head coach Chris Bates told GoPrincetonTigers.com.

Junior midfielder Peter Smyth won the overtime face-off, but the Tigers quickly turned the ball over. After Yale took a timeout, Bulldogs attackman Brandon Mangan forced a difficult shot between two defensemen that bounced off the turf, off the far pipe and into the net. Only 33 seconds had elapsed in the overtime period when Princeton found itself the victim of another heartbreaking loss.

The Tigers struck early in the first period after Yale attackman Matt Gibson turned the ball over and junior attackman Cliff Larkin got the ground ball pickup. A few seconds later, Larkin assisted freshman midfielder Tom Schreiber, who buried the ball in the net for his eighth goal of the season.

The Bulldogs responded quickly one minute later, as Yale midfielder Gregory Mahony scored to tie up the game. The visitors gained a one-minute extra-man opportunity immediately after the goal but were not able to capitalize. However, with eight minutes, eight seconds left in the period, Yale attackman Brian Douglass put the Bulldogs up 2-1.

Princeton did not wait long to respond. Sophomore attackman Luke Armour recorded his first goal of the season to knot the score. The Tigers’ defense locked down, freeing up the attack to pressure Yale, and senior attackman Chris McBride beat Yale goalkeeper Johnathan Falcone with 39 seconds left in the period to put Princeton up by one. The Tigers were outshot 8-6 in the first period but held a slim 3-2 lead.

The Tigers applied extensive defensive pressure early in the second frame, but the Bulldog defense was similarly unyielding. With seven minutes left in the period, Chris McBride scored his second goal of the game at the seven-minute mark. Two minutes later, senior midfielder Tyler Moni found the back of the net to put the Tigers up 5-2.

Princeton unleashed a flurry of shots on the Yale goal for the rest of the period, outshooting the Bulldogs 12-4. However, Falcone prevented the Tigers from doing any more damage in the period.

The opening minutes of the third period featured an intensity on defense similar to the early minutes of the second. Yale turned the ball over three times early while Princeton gave the ball up three times. Finally, Moni passed to sophomore attackman Forest Sonnenfeldt, who scored to put Princeton up 6-2 halfway through the period.

The Bulldogs finally responded to Princeton’s 5-0 run, which had lasted 33 minutes. With just under five minutes to go in the third period, Gibson scored off midfielder Mark Dobrosky’s assist.

The Tigers’ defense collapsed over the final 20 minutes. Mangan scored with two minutes left in the period off midfielder Michael Lipin’s assist, and the Bulldogs took advantage off of an extra-man opportunity soon afterwards, as midfielder Matt Miller scored of a Douglass assist. Yale took 10 shots in the period to Princeton’s five.

“When we’re up 6-2 and they score, the momentum changes,” Bates said. “You have to make a play to get it back. You can’t let that turn the whole game around.”

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The Tigers attempted several shots in the early minutes of the fourth period, but the Bulldogs struck first. Yale attackman Deron Dempster successfully found the net off Mahony’s assist to tie up the game 6-6.

The Bulldogs attempted to finish their comeback with two shots, but Sonnenfeldt scored with five minutes, 15 seconds left in the fourth to put Princeton back ahead. Yale kept fighting, and with about a minute to play, Dempster scored his second goal of the period.

Sonnenfeldt got off one more shot for the Tigers with nine seconds left, but Falcone was there to stop it, sending the game into overtime and setting the stage for Mangan’s overtime goal.

It has been a difficult season for Princeton so far, but the Tigers will regroup for their next game against Brown at home next Saturday.

They will face top-ranked Syracuse the following week.