Men's Lacrosse: Postseason hopes on the line in Foxboro

Princeton now stands at 3-6 overall (1-2 Ivy League) with three games left on its regular season schedule. The Tigers look to continue their recent momentum against Dartmouth (4-6, 1-2) on Saturday, taking on the Big Green in the New England Lacrosse Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

“This team has a lot of heart,” freshman midfielder Tom Schreiber said. “Our coaches have been very positive with us and continually preach the right messages to not give up and to keep fighting. Our team motto has been FIDO, ‘Forget It and Drive On.’ Our team has taken that message very seriously and it showed against both Brown and Rutgers.”

Princeton needs to win each of its remaining three regular season games to keep up hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. With an RPI of 15 before the Rutgers game, the toughest schedule in the nation and a win over No. 3 Johns Hopkins on March 5, the Tigers will be in contention for an at-large berth, especially if Princeton can win its first game in the Ivy League Tournament.

If the Tigers drop any of their remaining contests, however, their only chance of qualifying for the tournament will be by winning the Ivy League Tournament and earning the Ancient Eight’s automatic bid. They will almost certainly need to win two of their final three games to qualify for the four-team tournament.

“The tough schedule has forced this team to grow up and deal with adversity,” head coach Chris Bates said. “We can’t just put on the jersey and expect to win. Our preparation and execution have had to improve. It’s forced our guys to look at themselves critically and determine who they are and how important this is to them. They have responded well.”

Dartmouth started off the season strong, winning three out of their first four games. However, the Big Green ran into a roadblock, losing to then-No. 7 Duke and then-No. 6 North Carolina in one weekend in March. Dartmouth is limping into the contest on Saturday, having won only one of its last six games, a tight 9-8 contest against Harvard at home on March 26.

Princeton is anchored by its defense, which is ranked 10th in the nation and allows seven and a half goals per game. Junior defenseman Chad Wiedmaier, classmate John Cunningham and senior Long Ellis anchor the defensive line. The rock in goal for the Tigers has been junior goalie Tyler Fiorito, who was named to the Ivy League Honor Roll for his performance last week. Fiorito ranks eighth in the nation in save percentage, ninth in goals-against average and 13th in saves per game. He was key at the end of the Rutgers game, making two saves in 20 seconds to prevent the game from going to overtime.

Princeton will look to take advantage of the Big Green’s carelessness with the ball, as Dartmouth ranks last in the Ivy League in turnovers, committing over 18 per game.

“Tyler and our entire defense have remained pretty consistent throughout,” Bates said. “While we are always looking for improvement, that end of the field has kept us in games. We’ve asked them to carry a bigger load while the faceoff and offensive units develop.”

The Big Green are led on offense by attackmen Kip Dooley, Nikki Dysenchuk, Jeff Perkins, Drew Tunney and midfielder Rhett Miller. Perkins and Tunney both rank in the top 15 nationally in shot percentage. Dartmouth possesses some ability up front, but the Tigers’ strong defense has the edge.

Schreiber has given Princeton’s offense some much-needed firepower. Schreiber leads the team with 23 points, 13 goals and ten assists. He notched three goals and three assists in the Rutgers game for a career-high six points and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for the second time. Senior attackman Chris McBride, sophomore midfielder Jeff Froccaro and sophomore attackman Forest Sonnenfeldt have been Princeton’s other top offensive performers. Princeton has also been able to rely on its offensive depth, with junior attackmen Cliff Larkin and Mike Grossman, sophomore attackman Luke Armour and classmate Tucker Shanley all providing key contributions.

After Princeton went down 10-8 against Rutgers, Shanley scored, followed by Froccaro eight seconds later to tie up the game. Froccaro then scored the game-winner on a Schreiber assist.

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“The Rutgers game hopefully gives us a little spark scoring some goals,” Bates said. “Chris McBride has done a solid job keeping that group together and progressing. Tom Schreiber is consistent with his effort and production. He is beginning to become a leader for us on that end of the field. The next step is to put together 60 minutes and take the next step as an offensive unit.”

The Big Green have a solid presence of its own in goal, as goalie Fergus Campbell made the Ivy League Honor Roll last week. He ranks third in the Ivy League in saves per game.

The Tigers will need to take advantage of their late momentum against the Big Green on Saturday. Even though the beginning of the season started off disappointingly for Princeton, the Tigers have a chance to rebound starting against Dartmouth after resurrecting their season from the dead.

“We don’t really need any extra incentive to stay focused for this one,” Schreiber said. “Every game we play we need to look at as a must-win. We know how important it is, and we are going about it in a very businesslike manner. Our coaches have preached to us that from this point forward every game must be treated as a playoff game. We are not taking Dartmouth lightly by any means. They are a good team with great lacrosse tradition, and we are expecting a hard-fought game on Saturday in Foxboro.”