STICKING TOGETHER: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Ryan Ambler prepares to unload the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior attackman and captain Ambler tallied a goal and two assists as Princeton fell 13-10 to Stony Brook. It was the Tigers’ first game under interim head coach Matt Madalon, who took the helm of the program when head coach Chris Bates was dismissed last week in the wake of a sideline incident during Princeton’s 19-8 loss to Brown on April 2. The Tigers, who moved to 2-7 overall with the defeat to Stony Book, will resume Ivy League play when they host Dartmouth on April 16. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

It was uncharted territory last week as turmoil engulfed the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team.

After Princeton head coach Chris Bates apparently elbowed a Brown player during the third quarter of the Tigers’ 19-8 loss to the Bears on April 2, his behavior and job status sparked a firestorm of controversy.

Two days later, Bates was placed on administrative leave while the University reviewed the incident. Last Wednesday, Bates was dismissed and assistant Matt Madalon was named as the interim coach for the remainder of the 2016 campaign with a national search for a permanent head coach to be held after the season.

Dealing with the exit of Bates, who had a record of 53-42 in his seven seasons with the Tigers and led the team to the 2010, 2012 ,and 2015 Ivy League championships, the Princeton players did their best to circle the wagons.

“It was obviously an emotional week; we have got a really solid crew here and the character in the locker room is really strong,” said senior attackman and captain Ryan Ambler.

“Everyone has really stuck together. Everyone is there for each other and had each other’s back. It was definitely a hard time for everyone. It is not a time where it is just one guy making a difference, it is a collective effort.”

The Tigers needed a big effort as they faced a big challenge in taking on high-powered and eighth-ranked Stony Brook last Saturday.

“We were focusing on lacrosse and the task at hand this week, which was Stony Brook,” said Ambler.

“We are going to move game by game here and we feel like everything is in front of us in terms of the Ivy League. We were happy to compete.”

Putting its difficult week in the rear view mirror, Princeton showed plenty of competitive fire against the Seawolves, battling back from an early 7-2 deficit to draw within 7-6 in the third quarter and 11-10 early in the fourth before losing 13-10 to drop to 2-7 overall.

“I think it is just the ebb and flow of the game, sometimes we go down a couple of goals in the game and sometimes we go up a couple of goals early in a game,” said Ambler, who tallied a goal and two assists in the defeat.

“Coach Madalon says it all the time, it is a game of runs so we had our runs, they had their runs. It is just part of the game in general.”

Sophomore Sam Bonafede, who enjoyed a career game as he went 19-for-27 on face-offs, sparked some runs for the Tigers.

“He had a great day in the face-off X, I was really proud of his effort,” said Ambler. “He had a really hard week of practice. He was dedicated to being the guy at the face-off X the entire week and he did very well.”

Ambler did very well setting up Gavin McBride, assisting on two of the junior star’s three goals.

“He is a great player, every day in practice we are trying to figure out new ways to get the ball to each other,” added Ambler.

“More times than not, we do and we are lucky that we can find each other on the back side through different cuts. He is just a great kid; I love playing with him.”

In reflecting on the loss, Ambler acknowledged that the Tigers should have gotten more balls in the back of the net.

“I felt like we didn’t capitalize on some opportunities,” added Ambler.

“I think offensively we have to take accountability for it because our defense played really strong. There were times that we didn’t bail them out so I think the offense really needed to make some more plays today. That starts with me and that goes all the way down.”

Known for his flashy passing, Ambler has enjoyed getting the opportunity to be the quarterback of the Princeton attack.

“It is a fun role; my dad is a coach so growing up he put me in the mindset of really seeing the game from a different angle,” said Ambler, a 6’1, 190-pound native from Rydal, Pa. who now has 13 goals and a team-high 18 assists this season for a team-best 31 points. “It has helped me tremendously in my career.”

Having started since his freshman season. Ambler is piling up the career milestones as he now has 70 goals and 83 assists.

“I would attribute that to playing with really good players like Tom Schreiber, Mike MacDonald, and Kip Orban and even guys here now like Gavin McBride and Riley Thompson,” said Ambler, who is now 12th all-time at Princeton in points and ninth in assists.

“They set me up and there are times when I find them, they are open, and they bury the ball.”

Interim head coach Madalon acknowledged it was a trying week for everyone around the Princeton program.

“It was just emotional, that would be the best way to describe it but our guys did well and we tried to distract ourselves by the fact that we had to prepare for a top 10 team,” said Madalon.

“We tried to just give them a little spark, we tried to change tempo in the game a little bit to be a little more aggressive in certain situations and at different times of the game. It was nothing drastic because you don’t want to rattle the guys. Any way you shake it, the situation was a rallying point.”

The Tigers faced a tough situation against Stony Brook by digging the early hole.

“Unfortunately we often find ourselves down early,” said Madalon. “Our M.O. is us clawing back and I wish we could start games a little stronger but our guys did a really nice job.”

Madalon was proud of the job that Bonafede did on face-offs.

“Sam was excellent today,” asserted Madalon. “We made some adjustments with him this week. He really put in the work and that is what paid off.”

Junior midfielder Currier gave Princeton some very good work, tallying two goals and an assist with seven ground balls.

“He is a heck of a player in terms of his all-around skill set,” said Madalon. “He was able to help himself out and our guys played well off of him.”

Ambler played well in leading the attack. “Ryan is our leader down there, he is just so impressive in helping us manage offensive possessions and making calls,” said Madalon.

“He just really understands the time and tempo of the game. We are on the same wave length there; I can’t say enough about him.”

While Princeton needs to play sharper to get back on the winning track after four straight losses, Madalon believes that his players gave an impressive effort in defeat last Saturday.

“I think as a staff we need to do a better job to prepare our guys to make plays in certain situations but I think the guys did an excellent job and it was a good stepping stone for us,” said Madalon.

Having dealt with a rough situation, the Tigers are looking to do some damage in Ivy League play and making a run for one of the four spots in the league’s postseason tournament.

“The post-game message was that after a very tiring and emotional week, we are proud of our group,” said Madalon.

“We still have everything ahead of us. We are looking forward to getting back at it. It is just keep fine-tuning our systems so we are going to be able to control the pace and the tempo as we get into those Ivy games.”

In Ambler’s view, the group’s best lacrosse is ahead of it. “I think we are starting to really figure it out, the tough part about it is that we are 2-7 now,” said Ambler.

“We want to be playing good lacrosse the next two weeks going into the Ivy League because we still have that in front of us. We need to be playing as hard as we can. I think that our systems are great. I think that our talent is great. I think the coaching is great. I think the character is great. We just need to put it together for four quarters. There are times when we have mental lapses, which is OK, but we need to minimize those.”