SIMPLY AWESOME: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Austin Sims heads to goal in a game earlier this season. Last week, junior midfielder Sims scored six goals to help Princeton defeat Quinnipiac 17-13. It was the second straight six-goal effort for Sims, who had hit that mark in an 18-7 win over Johns Hopkins on March 3. The 16th-ranked Tigers, now 4-1, are next in action when they play at No. 5 Rutgers (6-0) on March 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Austin Sims took his game to a higher level last summer, helping the U.S. team win the championship at the FIL (Federation of International Lacrosse) 2016 U-19 Men’s World Championships in British Columbia last July.

For Princeton University midfielder Sims, who served as a co-captain of the U.S. squad, the experience made him more self-assured on the field.

“I think it gave me confidence knowing that I can play with some of the best players our age in the world,” said Sims, who had a goal and four assists in the competition.

Sims is now proving to be one of the best players in college lacrosse, having been named the Epoch/US Lacrosse Player of the Week after scoring a career-high six goals in an 18-7 win over then-No. 3 Johns Hopkins on March 3.

“It is obviously an honor to be the player of the week and get all those accolades,” said Sims.

“But I could not have done it without my teammates like Gavin McBride, Mike Sowers, Zach Currier and the guys like Mike Morean running between the lines and making defensive stops. It was nice getting my personal accolades but there are a lot of guys that didn’t get any accolades who also played very well.”

It was nice for Princeton collectively to get the breakthrough victory over the powerful Blue Jays.

“A win against a storied program and a rival like Hopkins gives us a lot of confidence,” said Sims.

“It showed us what our potential could be going forward. It was definitely a confidence builder but we don’t want to rest on our laurels.”

Last week, the Tigers weren’t quite as sharp as they struggled a bit before pulling out a 17-13 win over Quinnipiac.

“It was definitely a slow start; it was a Tuesday game and that can definitely happen to you,” said Sims, reflecting on the March 7 contest.

“I think it is a good thing that even though we didn’t play at our best today, we got the win. I think that is the mark of a good team; it is good that we were able to pay well enough to get the win.”

After leading just 11-9 late in the third quarter, Princeton went on an 8-1 run to take control of the contest.

“I think we got a couple of key defensive stops,” said Sims. “I know we let in a couple but being able to stop the runs and then come back on offense and get a quick goal and kill their runs, which was definitely huge. It was the leadership of our captains and the leadership of our seniors, keeping everyone calm and making sure that no one was freaking out.”

Sims, for his part, produced another huge performance as he scored six goals for the second straight game.

“It is teammates putting me in promising positions to score and I am just capitalizing on it,” said Sims, the 6’1, 185-pound native of Fairfield, Conn. who now has a team-high 14 goals this season.

“Coach (Pat) March harps on my shooting form and makes me practice it a lot so give him some credit too.”

The experience of having played with Tiger freshman star Michael Sowers on the U.S. team has helped Sims getting in the right positions.

“I think one of the big things that came out of the summer was my relationship with Mike Sowers,” said Sims.

“A dynamic guy like that with vision is able to break down almost any defender. I was able to get a head start on a relationship with him over the summer, knowing that we are going be wearing the same jersey for the next two years.”

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon likes the dynamic play he is getting from Sims.

“Austin has done a heck of a job,” said Madalon. “What he has done well is that he has put himself in positions to finish plays for us and when he has had opportunities, he has done so.”

Madalon acknowledged that Princeton squandered some opportunities in the win over Quinnipiac.

“It was not a good 60 minutes of lacrosse from us; we are happy to come out on top,” said Madalon.

“That is not to take anything away from Quinnipiac, they did a great job. They have a very good offense, they are well prepared, and good at the face-off X. We just made a lot of mistakes and we are frustrated by that.”

The Tigers were able to overcome their sloppy play down the stretch. “I think stick work and execution clicked for a couple of a minutes at a time and we were able to go on a couple of little runs,” said Madalon.

While the Princeton defense had some lapses in execution against the Bobcats, Madalon likes the way that unit is coming together.

“They have done a really good job, we had some different guys playing some different match ups,” said Madalon.

“Quinnipiac does a heck of a job offensively and they made us pay a couple of times, I think Danny Winschuh did well; Nick Bauer is doing a nice job.”

With the 16th-ranked Tigers slated to play at No. 5 Rutgers (6-0) on March 15, Madalon knows that his squad will need to do a really good job to come away with a victory over the Scarlet Knights.

“We have a good week of practice ahead of us but I like where we are at,” said Madalon

“We are going to start as a staff preparing for them tonight. They have done an outstanding job, they are a heck of a program. We have played a one-goal game with them in the past handful of years. It is a rivalry and our guys will be ready.”

In Sims’ view, Princeton is ready to keep building on its promising start.

“I think the team is in a good place; we want to keep moving forward with every game,” said Sims

“We have a tough game against Rutgers; they are a great team, great program, and a historic rival. It is going to be a good one.”