No. 4 Princeton men’s lacrosse (7–2 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) downed the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3–7 overall, 2–2 Patriot League) with a commanding 17–12 win on Tuesday night at Sherrerd Field.
“I think a big flip for us this week was just Andrew McMeekin and the possession face-off battle,” Head Coach Matt Madalon told The Daily Princetonian. “I think he did an incredible job and from a coaching standpoint, just being able to have possession gives you so much more comfortability.”
On that night, the junior face-off went 16–24 and had 12 ground balls, a season high.
The game against the Mountain Hawks marks the Tigers’ first out-of-conference game in nearly three weeks after facing Cornell, Harvard, and Dartmouth consecutively.
Princeton struck first, putting themselves on the scoreboard less than two minutes into the game with a quick goal from sophomore midfielder Tucker Wade, assisted by first-year attacker Peter Buonanno. Senior attacker Coulter Mackesy doubled the score with a goal of his own, driving from midfield and netting a strong shot from deep.
Minutes later, Lehigh responded, evening the score at two goals a-piece. To end the quarter though, sophomore attacker Nate Kabiri and senior attacker Braedon Saris put the Tigers back on top, 4–2.
Princeton continued to garner momentum entering the second quarter. Mackesy continues to cement his name into the record books, scoring his 148th career goal and the Tigers’ fifth of the game on another long shot down the center.
Mackesy currently sits at No 2. on Princeton’s all-time scoring list, only 13 goals short of the current record set in 1998 by Jesse Hubbard. Mackesy is also climbing the ranks of most total points scored in a career, currently at fourth all-time.
“Coulter’s a really remarkable person and player,” Madalon told the ‘Prince.’ “To see him climb the ranks and hit those milestones is really remarkable.”
From here, Princeton scored four goals in five minutes, with the run starting with a hard and contested finish from Wade. The Tigers battled through the offensive third and defended shots, giving them the offensive momentum and the 9–3 lead.
But to end the half, Lehigh went on a 4–2 run, putting them back within four before heading into the break. Midway through the game, Princeton led 11–7.
Princeton reclaimed the momentum come the second half, with junior attacker Chad Palumbo tallying another goal for the Tigers. Five minutes later, Palumbo doubled down and scored a second, followed by Buonanno who also got in on the action. The Tigers brought their lead back to 7 late in the third quarter, leading 14–7.
Once again, the Mountain Hawks battled back, scoring three goals in just four minutes. Princeton did not let up though, and responded with goals from sophomore attacker Colin Burns and Buonanno.
The teams exchanged goals to close the fourth quarter, but the Tigers did not let Lehigh claw back. Princeton secured their third straight win, defeating the Mountain Hawks by a final score of 17–12.
In the matchup, Princeton boasted nine different scorers, highlighting the depth of their offense.
“The best wins are when everyone contributes, which happened last night,” Mackesy told the ‘Prince.’ “The depth of this team is one of its biggest strengths, and I think that showed last night.”
The Tigers will play their last out of conference game this Saturday against Vermont. From there, Princeton will resume Ivy League play and close their season with final games against Brown, Penn, and Yale.
“This was our third game in seven days,” Madalon told the ‘Prince.’ “So we’re just trying to get rest, recover, and make sure we’re healthy and organized before our last out of conference game against Vermont.”
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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