MAC ATTACK: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Gavin McBride heads upfield in action last year. Senior attackman and co-captain McBride is the team’s leading returning scorer, having tallied 34 points on 26 goals and eight assists last season. Princeton, which is being guided by new head coach Matt Madalon, opens its 2017 campaign by hosting NJIT on February 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team, getting the chance to go on an overseas trip to Portugal last fall could not have come at a better time.

With Matt Madalon being named as the head coach last June after taking the helm in April on an interim basis and then completely
revamping his staff, the eight-day excursion, which included games against the English national team, proved to be a valuable step in starting the program’s new era.

“As a first-year head coach, it is great to get our staff a couple of more practices and for the guys to get a couple of game opportunities,” said Madalon, noting that the program is only allowed one trip abroad every four years under NCAA rules.

“On top of the ability to play and practice as a program a few more times, to be able to experience another country and its culture was just a really great experience.”

Building on that experience, Princeton has enjoyed a spirited preseason as it prepares for its season opener against visiting NJIT on February 18.

“The mood is excitement; I think guys are just ready to put our new systems to the test and match up against another team with a different colored helmet, said Madalon, who took the helm last spring after previous head coach Chris Bates was dismissed, guiding the Tigers to a 3-2 finish as they ended 2016 at 5-8 overall.

“The leadership has been outstanding, Bear Goldstein and Gavin McBride, our two senior captains, have done a wonderful job. Goldstein is now in his second year as a captain. Our seniors have done a very nice job of setting the tone. I think everyone else, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have just done a good job of learning and adapting to the systems and the new coaches. We are off and running at this point.”

Madalon is looking for freshman Michael Sowers and senior co-captain Gavin McBride to get the Princeton attack running on all cylinders.

“Our attack unit is going to be anchored by our captain Gavin McBride (26 goals and 8 assists in 2016) down there and the addition of Michael Sowers,” said Madalon, who will also be using sophomore (4 goals, 4 assists) Carter Flaig, junior Riley Thomson (13 goals, 13 assists), and sophomore Dawson McKenzie (5 goals, 2 assists) along with a pair of freshmen, Andrew Bowman, and Philip Robertson on attack.

“Michael is a special player; we knew that coming in and we knew that when we got to watch him at the U-19 world championships this summer. He and coach (Pat) March, our offensive coordinator, have synched up and we will be able to create a dynamic from below goal and extended that Princeton hasn’t seen in a while. Gavin is almost like an offensive assistant coordinator out there. He is very knowledgeable. We are looking for him to keep his consistency up and that has been the story behind Gavin McBride, his level of consistency on and off the field.”

Senior star Zach Currier (14 goals, 17 assists) has taken his game to a higher level in the midfield.

“Zach Currier is one of those rare talents we get every so often, we are thrilled to have him,” said Madalon of Currier, who also had a team-high 75 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers last season.

“He is going to shoulder a lot of the offensive load with junior Austin Sims (23 goals, 2 assists).”

The Tigers boast a number of other options in the midfield. “We have a lot of competition and depth to finalize our first and second lines,” said Madalon, noting that sophomore Charlie Durbin (2 goals, 1 assist), senior Adam Hardej (3 goals), senior Bear Altemus, and freshman Connor McCarthy are in the mix.

Princeton also features some good depth in the defensive midfield, starting with senior Sam Gravitte (1 goals, 1 assist).

“Sam Gravitte made the switch to shortstick defensive midfielder towards the end of the season as I took over and then there are three guys that will anchor out that unit, junior J.P. Caputo (1 goals, 1 assist), sophomore Mike Morean (1 assist) and sophomore Strib Walker,” said Madalon, noting that freshmen Zack Struckman and Chase Williams should see some time in that unit.

At face-off, the Tigers will be looking for junior Sam Bonafede (95-of-189 face-offs in 2016) to take charge.

“We are anticipating that Sam Bonafede will be taking a majority of the draws,” said Madalon, noting that Currier, senior Jack O’Brien, freshman Ralph Chrappa, and freshman Philip Thompson will also get some face-off opportunities.

A pair of senior stalwarts, co-captain Bear Goldstein (23 ground balls in 2016) and Mark Strabo (13 ground balls), will spearhead the defensive unit.

“Defensively we have Bear Goldstein and Mark Strabo; they will anchor our defense,” said Madalon, whose defensive unit will also include senior Alistair Berven, sophomore Aran Roberts, freshman Arman Medghalchi,  freshman Luke Pascucci, freshman David Sturtz, and freshman Nick Bauer.

At goalie, Madalon is looking for junior Tyler Blaisdell to build on a solid sophomore campaign that saw him post a goals against average of 11.75 and a save percentage of .448.

“Tyler is the incumbent, I would say it is his position to lose,” said Madalon, who will also be looking at freshman and former Hun School standout Jon Levine, and sophomore Oliver Schmickel at goalie.

“In the offseason, we have really tried to work on Tyler’s positioning, shoring up some of his fundamental stuff. I think he had so much success coming out of high school that we just need to refocus him and get him dialed in to make the saves that we need him to make. Jon is doing a really good job, Jon comes in as a lefty, very fundamental, good body type, and good blocker.”

In Madalon’s view, the Tigers need to focus on fundamentals to get back on the winning track.

“The keys to success for us are just going to be trust the process and let it take shape,” said Madalon.

“We are going to continue to learn throughout the year. It will be a more well balanced approach. We don’t have any true superstars dominating any position. It is a programmatic approach. We have had a heck of a fall, just installing systems, policies, and procedures. Our strength will be in our program production.”

Princeton is hoping for a strong start this Saturday when it welcomes NJIT (0-1) to the Class of 1952 Stadium.

“With the short Ivy preseason, we are still focused on ourselves and developing ourselves,” said Madalon.

“We are fortunate to have film on NJIT as they played Lehigh (a 15-5 loss on February 4) in week one and now they are off this week. We will get a good game plan together and we will start inputting that in the next week.”