Faceoffs Key Princeton Win Over UMBC
from press release
|
CATONSVILLE, Md. - A little overshadowed in the
barrage of shots and goals that the Princeton men's lacrosse team
put up in its first two games were the performances of freshman
goalie Tyler Fiorito and junior face-off man Paul Barnes. There was
no overlooking either one Friday night, as the Tigers' offense came
down to Earth a bit while Fiorito and Barnes were out of this
world.
Fiorito made 10 saves and Barnes won 13 of 15 face-offs to lead
Princeton past UMBC 6-5 in front of 1,744 at UMBC Stadium Friday
night. Princeton led 6-3 before UMBC scored twice in the final 1:24
to make it interesting.
When the dust settled, fifth-ranked Princeton was 3-0 for the
first time since 2001 and more importantly had two wins over Top 10
teams. The Tigers followed Saturday's win over Johns Hopkins with
the win Friday night against the Retrievers, ranked sixth by the
coaches and eighth by the media.
The Tigers will have a quick turnaround, as they return to Class
of 1952 Stadium Sunday at 1 against Manhattan in the first meeting
ever between the schools.
"It doesn't matter how you get it," siad Princeton coach Bill
Tierney. "It's just that you leave with at least one more goal than
the other team. With two teams playing offense the way they were
this year, it might have been a surprise to see a defensive game
like this. Both D's played well, and both goalies were
outstanding."
Both teams came in averaging better than 13 goals per game, and
Princeton had scored 14 goals in each of its first two games,
including a 14-8 win over Hopkins last week.
UMBC goalie Jeremy Blevins, a senior, made 11 saves, but he was
done in by a five-goal Tiger third quarter. Fiorito was especially
strong in the first half, when he made six of his saves and kept
the Tigers in the game.
"It's been incredible," said the freshman. "The guys trust me a
lot. Our defense is so good, it enables me just to play my game and
not try to do things I'm not really able to do."
As for Barnes, all he did was win the first 11 face-offs of the
night. He also won the final one, which came with 57 seconds
remaining after UMBC had pulled within one with two goals that came
27 seconds apart.
"Coach U [Kevin Unterstein] has been helping me a lot," said
Barnes, who won 13 of 22 in his first two games. "I've been
watching a lot of film, trying to get an edge. The guys on the
wings have done a great job."
Princeton led 1-0 after Mark Kovler scored the only goal of the
first quarter, but the Tigers would not score again before
intermission. UMBC took the lead 2-1 on a pair of second quarter
extra-man goals, the second coming with 30 seconds to go before the
half.
Any momentum the Retrievers disappeared in a strong third quarter
as the Tiger offense resembled the unit from the first two games.
Princeton took 111 shots in the first two games and then just 12 in
the first half Friday night, but the Tigers exploded for five goals
on 14 shots in the third quarter.
Chris McBride scored twice to start and finish the run, and
Kovler, Rich Sgalardi and Jack McBride all scored one each in the
quarter.
The score was 6-2 after three, but Princeton would not score
again. UMBC Alex Hopmann scored his second of the game with 10:37
to play to make it 6-3, and it stayed that way into the final two
minutes.
Ryan Smith would score with 1:24 to play to make it a two-goal
game, and Kyle Wimer made it 6-5 with 57 seconds to play. Barnes'
final face-off win enabled Princeton to clear all but the final
seven seconds off the clock, and UMBC could get no closer than a
desperation pass from behind its net towards the box as time
expired.
