Men's Lacrosse: Tigers throttle Dartmouth, 21-6

The triumph also guaranteed that the winner of Princeton’s final regular-season showdown against No. 5 Cornell in two weeks will take the home advantage in the four-team Ivy League Tournament. The postseason conference games will take place on May 4 and 6.

The Big Green (2-8, 0-4) took an early lead when Nikki Dysenchuk located teammate Mike Olentine for the first goal of the game at nine minutes, 37 seconds of the first quarter.

But Dartmouth’s advantage would be short-lived. Junior midfielder Bobby Lucas initiated the Tigers’ possession when he won the face-off and, a minute after Olentine’s goal, freshman attackman Mike MacDonald scored off of an assist by junior midfielder Tucker Shanley, launching the hosts’ four-quarter crusade.

Though Dartmouth maintained a respectable amount of possession in the early going, Princeton continued to undermine the Big Green’s efforts.

“We hoped to establish the pace early and, coming out of the Rutgers game, we felt that we could,” said head coach Chris Bates, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1990. “It was a bit of a slow first quarter. But on the offensive end, we stayed balanced and we stayed poised, and we didn’t try to do too much too early and were able to systematically break down Dartmouth’s defense.”

Despite the slow start, the Tigers scored at least five goals in each quarter this past Saturday. Shanley continued his streak of netting at least one goal in every game of the 2012 season.

Sophomore midfielder Tom Schreiber and junior midfielder Jeff Froccaro — the team’s two leading scorers this season with 45 combined goals — tallied two scores apiece in the next three minutes to increase Princeton’s lead to 5-1. Big Green attackman Drew Tunney then squeezed past senior goalie Tyler Fiorito with 2:33 remaining in the first, but the Tigers countered by scoring five unanswered goals in the second.

Both teams entered their locker rooms as the scoreboard read 10-2, perhaps unaware that Princeton would more than double its count.

Princeton’s stunning offensive display continued into the second half. Despite switching goalies in the second quarter, Dartmouth continued to allow numerous goals. The Tigers’ task, then, was to maintain its lead and limit the Big Green’s chances. Just one week ago, Princeton learned the painful lesson at Syracuse that a persistent lead into the third quarter of a game does not ensure a win.

Tensions ran high throughout the fourth quarter, when Dartmouth made a series of rough penalties — including a call on Anthony Fulham for pushing — perhaps intended to generate a response. Instead, the Tigers remained focused and clean.

Froccaro, Schreiber, Macdonald and junior attackman Luke Armour each captured hat tricks for Princeton, while Shanley, freshman midfielder Brendan McGrath and junior attackman Forest Sonnenfeldt scored two apiece. Overall, 13 players earned at least one point for Princeton, which scored 21 goals on 46 shots. Lucas, senior midfielder Peter Smyth and freshman midfielder Justin Murphy went 20-for-30 on face-offs.

In two games last week, Princeton outscored Rutgers and Dartmouth by a combined 24 goals.

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

Before the Tigers host Cornell on April 28, they will travel to Cambridge on Saturday to face Harvard. Though Princeton’s win against Dartmouth and Harvard’s unexpected 13-11 loss to Penn on the same day eased some postseason pressure, the Crimson still proves an important matchup.

While the Tigers only need to beat the Big Red in order to host the Ivy League Tournament, they hope to beat Harvard as a reversal of results within the past two years. Last season, Harvard beat the Tigers by a narrow 9-8 margin at 1952 Stadium, while the year before, the Crimson upset its opponent in an 11-8 contest.

“I promise nobody will be looking past that game, because I know I’m not,” Bates said.