Familiar Foes Emerge from Ivy League Fray
by Brian Delaney | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | Ivy Semifinals Blog
|
|
Princeton goalie Tyler Fiorito (11 saves) carries the clear on his own Friday in the Tigers' 7-6 win over Yale in the Ivy League semifinals. "The way Tyler goes, this team is going to go," said Princeton attackman Jack McBride. © Greg Wall |
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Some traditions are just too
deeply ingrained to be uprooted in one season’s time.
The Ivy League saw its first four-team tie for the regular season
title in 2010, but when the lights at Schoellkopf Field were turned
off late Friday night – the two teams left standing in the
inaugural conference tournament were the two that are typically
left standing in the postseason.
Princeton and Cornell.
The two longtime rivals will play for a second time this season at
noon Sunday for an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
It’s a rematch of last Saturday’s regular season
finale, won 10-9 by the Big Red. Second-seeded Princeton edged Yale
in the first semifinal, 7-6, before top-seeded Cornell trounced
Brown 14-8 in the nightcap.
“The good thing is, good and bad, it depends on how you look
at it, we just played them so I don’t think it takes a lot of
preparation,” Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni said.
“Princeton’s probably not going to have to prepare too
much for Cornell. Cornell’s not going to have to prepare too
much in terms of X’s and O’s. Both teams are going to
know each other really well.”
Princeton’s defense was terrific, led by 11 saves from
sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito. When the Tigers’ offense
spent 27 minutes and 47 seconds trying to beat Yale goalie
Johnathan Falcone for the first time, it was Fiorito who kept the
Tigers’ deficit to 1-0.
“The way Tyler goes, this team is going to go,”
attackman Jack McBride said. “He’s our backbone;
he’s our leader. If he plays well, everyone feeds off of
him.”
Princeton coach Chris Bates will spend the next 36 hours figuring
out how to get his team off to a better start. Poor starts have
become a little too common, most recently Friday and in last
Saturday’s loss to Cornell, when the Big Red opened leads of
4-0 and 9-3 before hanging on late.
“I think we’re doing our best on offense and defense
if we can control the tempo of the game, win a few faceoffs and get
a few in there early against (Cornell),” Fiorito said.
If Austin Boykin manages a repeat of Friday, Princeton is in
trouble.
Boykin spearheaded Cornell’s victory with a dominating
20-for-25 effort on the faceoff X. He won countless draws cleanly
and rarely, if ever, did Brown (8-6) ride the ball back after
Cornell (10-4) took initial possession. With the win, Cornell
avenged a 13-10 loss to the Bears two weeks ago at Schoellkopf
Field.
“This game in comparison to last game, they hustled,”
Tambroni said. “I don’t think it was so much X’s
and O’s.”
|
|
Austin Boykin won 20 of 25 faceoffs for top-seeded Cornell in its 14-8 win over Brown in the Ivy League semifinals. © Greg Wall |
Cornell outshot the Bears 51-27 and held a 37-18 edge in ground
balls. If not for Matt Chriss’ 18 saves, or three late goals
in the fourth quarter, this score would have been more
lopsided.
The game felt more lopsided.
Cornell and Princeton played twice last season. Cornell won both
games, including a 6-4 decision in the NCAA quarterfinals.
Princeton did a fine job last week on Rob Pannell, who torched the
Bears with two goals and three assists. But the Tigers allowed Ryan
Hurley to go for four points, and he parlayed that effort into a
six-point performance on Friday night. Freshman Steve Mock also
stood out, scoring a career high four goals in a reserve role as
fourth attackman.
One thing is clear heading into Sunday. Win or lose, both teams
feel confident that their seasons will last beyond Sunday’s
encounter. Both have strong at-large resumes and schedule
strengths.
“We feel really good,” Bates said.
For Yale and Brown, Friday’s losses could very well signal
the offseasons’ beginning.
Even in a historic year of parity, some things don’t change.
Not with Princeton and Cornell. Not just yet.
