CAUSING HAVOC: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Michael Bath controls the ball against Tigers last Sunday. Junior defender Bath helped lead a stifling defensive effort as the Tigers topped Rutgers 14-8. Bath set a program single-game record of six caused turnovers in the win and also scooped up four ground balls and was later named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week. Princeton, now 4-2 and ranked 13th nationally, hosts No. 15 Cornell (3-2) on March 17 in the Ivy League opener for both teams. (Photo by Steven Wojtowicz)

By Bill Alden

Heading into its clash at Rutgers last Sunday afternoon, the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team steeled itself by playing three straight road games against Top 20 teams.

The Tigers fell 13-7 at then-No. 4 Maryland on February 24 before heading down Tobacco Road to start March, defeating then-No. 19 North Carolina 15-9 in Chapel Hill on March 1 before falling 17-8 at then-No. 1 Duke in Durham two days later.

“We learned a lot from that weekend, not only about our skill set but our team as a whole,” said Princeton head coach Matt Madalon in assessing the jaunt to North Carolina. “Being able to take a trip like that was really just a nice opportunity.”

Making the most of its short trip to Piscataway on Sunday, No. 16 Princeton pulled away to a 14-8 win over the No. 16 Scarlet Knights to improve to 4-2 and win the Tots Meistrell Cup in the 101st meeting in the Garden State border war.

“It is the first trophy game of the year, any time you play for a trophy, it is a big game,” said Madalon. “That one meant a lot, it is an in-state rivalry. It is always at a critical point in both of our seasons where we know enough about ourselves and our teams should really start taking shape. It was a big-win.”

Jumping out to a 3-0 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter, Princeton seized momentum.

“In any game, you want to get off running and you want your guys to feel confident in the game plan,” said Madalon. “It was good for us to shoot well, that was a big focus coming into it. We worked for great shots and to be patient and be really smart. I think we did a pretty good job early on in the first quarter, we had good shot selection.”

After Rutgers cut the Princeton lead to 5-4 midway through the second quarter, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to end the half and never looked back, sparked by a stifling defense that forced 21 turnovers on the day.

“Our game plan was focused on shutting down [Shane] Knobloch and [Ross] Scott, if we could contain those guys we felt like we had a pretty good shot,” said Madalon. “[Pace] Billings and [Nick] Crowley ended up marking Knobloch all day and did an outstanding job. [Cooper] Kistler was on Ross Scott. Those are some of the toughest matchups we have had all year.”

Junior defender Michael Bath was particularly tough on the Scarlet Knights. He set a program single-game record of six caused turnovers in the win and also scooped up four ground balls and was later named the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week.

“Bath did a good job, just making plays,” said Madalon. “He is a very, very opportunistic pole in terms of being disruptive. He was just playing his game. He has a knack for taking the ball off of guys.”

In goal, senior Michael Gianforcaro was sharp, making 14 saves.

“His 65 percent save percentage is outstanding, he was great in the cage,” said Madalon. “He is obviously a backstop for us. Our guys have a ton of confidence playing in front of him. He was great with clean saves. He did a good job helping out. We wanted to be a cleaner in the clearing game, outside of that it was a very good job by him.”

At the offensive end, junior Coulter Mackesy sparked the attack, tallying three goals and two assists. Freshman attacker Nate Kabiri chipped in two goals with classmate Colin Burns contributing one.

“Hopefully that attack unit stays consistent,” said Madalon. “With Burns, Kabiri, and Mackesy, at each different time, those guys can go off. Coulter is just one heck of a player — he is doing it with the ball and without the ball. He just continues to be really impressive. Burns and Kabiri are young guys, they are halfway through their first year season. We have got to treat them like sophomores and we hope they play that way.”

In the midfield, freshman Tucker Wade and junior Sean Cameron each had two goals.

“We are continuing to look for production from the midfield unit,” said Madalon. “Tucker was able to step up. He had a good week of practice. He earned a spot in the first midfield line and he capitalized. Cameron was a little snakebitten in terms of shooting, it was good to see him get back on track.”

While Madalon was happy with the win over Rutgers, he acknowledged that the Tigers are not quite on track yet.

“I would say more than years in the past with our inexperience, it is still a work in progress,” said Madalon, whose team is now ranked 13th nationally. “We are still working to get better every day, hopefully we haven’t played our best lacrosse. We are making some of the same mistakes, careless mistakes. We have to clean that up and hopefully we can play a little cleaner game. Hopefully we are in it at the end.”

With Princeton hosting No. 15 Cornell (3-2) on March 17 in the Ivy League opener for both teams, Madalon knows that his squad will have to play some very good lacrosse to come away with a win.

“This is a team that has gotten the best of us recently in the Ivy League,” said Madalon of the Big Red. “We are looking forward to this matchup. With CJ Kirst and Michael Long, they have some of the best players in the country. We expect nothing but an absolute battle.”

—Bill Alden