Orangemen bolt to 6-0 lead, hold off Tigers
By: Bob Nuse
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Sometimes you just run into a better team.
That was the case Monday as the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team fell to Syracuse, 13-7, in the NCAA tournament championship game at Byrd Stadium at the University of Maryland.
For Syracuse, which took control of the game early by scoring the first six goals, the national title was its sixth in school history and first since 1995, when the Orangemen beat Maryland.
“Sometimes you just have to look the kids in the eye and say you got beat by a better team,” said Princeton coach Bill Tierney, whose team lost in the national final for the first time in six appearances. “We got beat by a championship team today and you have to give them credit.”
For Princeton, the loss caps a 12-3 season that saw it accomplish much more than many thought possible. A relatively young Tiger team still managed to win an Ivy League title and reach the NCAA championship.
“This is a team that had no starters returning on defense and a new starter in goal,” Tierney said. “We had a lot of goals being scored by freshmen, yet we still won an Ivy title and had our Ivy win streak go to 31 in a row.
“This is a tough setting for a kid who a year ago was playing high school lacrosse. But I think they all learned and we plan on being back here again.”
Princeton dug itself a hole early by falling behind 4-0 at the end of the first quarter. By the time Sean Hartofilis scored the Tigers’ first goal of the game with 6:07 left in the second quarter, the Tigers had already let Syracuse jump out to a 6-0 lead.
Princeton managed to get as close as 7-3 when Owen Daly and Rob Torti scored goals 30 seconds apart late in the second quarter. But the Orangemen responded by scoring the first four goals of the third quarter, including three by Liam Banks, who finished with six goals.
“They’re such a quick and highly skilled team,” Tierney said of Syracuse, which had beaten Princeton, 16-4, in a regular-season meeting last month. “You can usually deal with one or the other, but they’re an awesome team. They’re tough to get a run on because they’re so good at face-offs. You can’t get the ball.”
Princeton managed to get within 7-3 at halftime, but by the time Josh Sims scored with four minutes left in the third quarter, the Orangemen had built an 11-3 lead. The Tigers got as close as 12-7 before Ryan Powell closed out the scoring with his third goal of the game and 287th point of his career, which tied his brother Casey’s school record.
“I give a lot of credit to Princeton and to Bill Tierney They had a remarkable season,” Syracuse coach John Desko said. “I thought they did a great job with all the freshmen they have playing, and a player like Sims is great to watch.
“I think down the road they’ll look back and find this a very rewarding season.”
Sims led the Tigers with two goals and an assist. Daly, Hartofilis, Brendan Tierney, Torti and Matt Striebel also scored. Trevor Tierney made 15 saves in goal.
Hartofilis and Sims were both named to the all-tournament team.