HELD OFF: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Jeff Froccaro fights through a hold in action earlier this season. Last Sunday, junior star Froccaro scored two goals but it wasn’t enough as Princeton fell 6-5 to fifth-seeded and defending champion Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Tigers ended the spring at 11-5 overall and 6-0 in Ivy League regular season play as they rebounded from a 4-8 campaign in 2011. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

During their NFL championship run in the early 1960s, the proud Green Bay Packer players used to say they never lost a game, they just ran out of time.

As Princeton University men’s lacrosse head coach Chris Bates reflected on his team’s 6-5 loss at fifth-seeded and defending champion Virginia last Sunday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, he had a similar feeling.

“If the game had gone a minute longer, we would have been ahead,” said Bates, whose team rallied from a 5-2 halftime deficit. “It was a matter of time until we broke through; we had momentum.”

With his team coming off a deflating 15-7 loss to Yale on May 7 in the championship game of the Ivy League tournament, Bates could sense that his players were regaining momentum as they went through practice last week.

“The mood was confident, upbeat, and positive as it should have been,” said Bates. “I thought we were where we needed to be.”

The proud Princeton defense was back to where it needed to be against the Cavaliers as it stymied Virginia’s high-octane attack.

“We were very uncharacteristic the week before,” said Bates, whose team had been giving up 6.85 goals a game before the Yale loss. “They rose to the challenge and the capabilities of who they were playing.”

The Tiger offense was not up to the challenge in the first half, repeatedly misfiring and making some costly miscues.

“I thought the key to the game was our missed shots and our offensive decision-making,” said Bates, whose team scored on just two of its 15 shots on goal in the opening half.

“We had some dropped shots and turnovers. I attribute a lot of that to Virginia’s defense, they played some zone and some man.”

Princeton was hurt by two defensive lapses as it yielded goals in the waning moments of both the first and second quarters.

“They dominated play early and we held them to two goals,” said Bates. “We score and everything seems to be going well and then they get a goal with nine seconds left in the quarter. The goal at the end of the half haunted us.”

Senior goalie Tyler Fiorito haunted the Cavaliers as he made 12 saves and controlled the crease area.

“I thought Tyler was spectacular in the cage,” asserted Bates of tri-captain Fiorito, who ended his career with a total of 624 saves, second best in program history.

“If you are going to win a game like that, you need your goalie to play well. He did everything in his power to help us win. He anticipates plays; he causes turnovers. It is a real bonus to have that in a goalie.”

Even though Princeton was trailing 5-2 at the half, Bates thought the Tigers had a great chance to pull out a win. “At halftime we challenged them,” recalled Bates. “We told them we were not out of this game.”

Controlling tempo in the third quarter, Princeton scored two unanswered goals to draw within 5-4 heading into the final 15 minutes of the contest.

“Bobby [Lucas] was getting face-offs and we started to get a rhythm,” said Bates, whose team ended up outshooting the Cavaliers 19-8 in the second half. “They started to turn the ball over.”

After falling behind 6-4 with 7:07 left in the contest, Princeton fought back to set up a nailbiting finish.

“Tom [Schreiber] did his thing to get us to 6-5,” said Bates, who got two goals and two assists from Schreiber on the day with Jeff Froccaro scoring two goals and Forest Sonnenfeldt adding one.

“On the last possession, we had plenty of time. We put our best playmakers and shooters out there. We had three shots with two of them at point blank.”

After the loss, Bates had a hard time as he addressed his players. “I was choked up; I was not prepared for it to be over,” said Bates, whose team ended the season with an 11-5 record.

“This group of seniors is special to me and the program with everything they endured and how they helped shape a culture. I was sad for them and their families to see it end.”

With Princeton having rebounded from a 4-8 campaign in 2011, Bates believes that change in culture will endure.

“The pieces are in place; we are losing three great players in Tyler, John Cunningham, and Chad Wiedmaier along with 11 other terrific seniors,” said Bates. “But there is lots of optimism and lots of hunger. We have three-quarters of the team coming back.”

In order to get back to national title contention, the Tigers will have to learn to get over the hump in tight games. In addition to the narrow loss last Sunday, the Tigers fell 10-8 to Johns Hopkins, 9-8 to North Carolina, and 10-9 to Syracuse this spring.

“It takes some intangibles and some execution,” said Bates. “You have to handle the pressure of big games. You have got to execute, make plays, and take care of the ball, ground balls, and face-offs. It also comes down to the character in the room. We need to make strides to be more game ready and situation ready.”

While the clock may have run out too soon on the Tigers last Sunday, Bates will long remember the character his players displayed in helping his son Nick and him carry on after the death of his wife, Ann, last November.

“It has been a privilege to be around these guys,” said Bates. “It has been great to come out everyday and focus on the group and making them better. It has been therapeutic for Nick and me. These guys rallied around me and my family. I will never forget that; it has meant so much.”