BURNING BRIGHT: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Colin Burns heads to goal in a game last season. Sophomore attacker Burns, who tallied 26 goals and nine assists last spring, is poised to be even more productive this season. No. 5 Princeton starts its 2025 campaign by playing at No. 10 Penn State (2-0) on February 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team heads into its 2025 campaign, its senior group is looking to come full circle.

“It is a hungry group, it is a senior group that has lived their life the right way,” said Princeton head coach Matt Madalon. “They experienced the Final 4 early on as freshmen, and they have been fighting their tails off to get back there.”

The seniors should get plenty of support this spring from a stellar sophomore group that entered the program being named as the best freshman class in Division I by Inside Lacrosse.

“They made a lot of progress as freshmen, we don’t put a lot of pressure on the young guys,” said Madalon, whose squad is ranked No. 5 and will start its 2025 campaign by playing at No. 10 Penn State (2-0) on February 15. “This year I just think there are more expectations around that crew, they are putting a little more pressure on themselves. It is a really impressive class, hopefully they take another big step forward.”

Senior Coulter Mackesy (40 goals, 24 assists in 2024) and a pair of those sophomores, Colin Burns (26 goals, nine assists) and Nate Kabiri (32 goals, 25 assists), will be triggering the Tiger offense as its top attack line.

“Mackesy is our captain and he is probably one of the top players in the country; he is a composed, impressive leader and is the offensive QB,” said Madalon, noting that senior Braedon Saris, freshman Cody Lam, and freshman Peter Buonanno will be in the mix at attack. “That is a really strong unit for us. They have some good chemistry. Obviously Kabiri and Burns will keep getting better as they physically mature and are around the college game more. As a unit, I am hoping Mackesy, Kabiri and Burns take a big step forward this year.”

In the midfield, junior Chad Palumbo (26 goals 11 assists) along with Sean Cameron (18 goals, 3 assists), sophomore Tucker Wade (17 goals, 5 assists) and junior John Dunphey (12 goals, 6 assists) will be leading the way.

“There is just a lot of guys up around that unit that return with some pretty good game experience,” said Madalon, who will also be looking at sophomore Carson Krammer along with freshmen Isaac Cruz, Jake Vana and Buonanno in the midfield. “Hopefully that unit continues to grow and step forward. There are some guys that could really step up and play some valuable minutes.”

At face-off, junior Andrew McMeekin emerged as a force last spring, winning 199 of 361 face-offs and scooping up 132 ground balls.

“He really did a nice job last year, he is working his tail off this offseason,” said Madalon of McMeekin who was named the Most Outstanding Player in the Ivy League Tournament.

“He is one guy that really wants to help this team take the next step, he is our kind of leader at that unit. You have got Koby Ginder, he is our backup there. That is a good unit.”

There are plenty of options in the defensive midfield with seniors Liam Fairback and Michael Kelly along with sophomore Cooper Mueller, sophomore Jackson Green, sophomore Owen Fischer, and sophomore Jacob Todd.

“There is not as much game experience as in years past, it is an athletic and a pretty hungry group,” said Madalon. “We are hoping they can get out and mix it up on behalf of our defense.”

Bruising senior Colin Mulshine (13 caused turnovers, 23 ground balls) will be spearheading the Tiger defensive unit along with Michael Bath (26 caused turnovers, 39 ground balls) and sophomore Jack Stahl (1 ground ball).

“We are hoping that he has a big year for us,” said Madalon of Mulshine. “He has done such a good job for us throughout his career. He is such a calm, quiet leader down there, we are really going to need him this year. Michael Bath has been down there, he has really unique skills. He can take the ball off of you and cover the fast guys. He is really versatile, he is physical. He is a captain, he is a leader down there. Jack Stahl had a good fall, he has that third spot on the depth chart.”

The pair of juniors Cooper Kistler (14 caused turnovers, 33 ground balls) and Nick Crowley (13 caused turnovers, 22 ground balls) will be holding down the longstick midfielder spot.

“Kistler is going to find himself in more of an LSM role this year,” said Madalon. “Kistler and Crowley will lump up around there. They are pretty talented guys. We will have to figure out who the next guys are in the next couple of weeks.”

With the graduation of star goalie Michael Gianforcaro, junior Ryan Croddick (9.89 goals against average, .500 save percentage), a former Hun School standout, has emerged as the starter.

“Ryan has had a nice preseason, we are looking forward to seeing him in the games,” said Madalon. “He is at the top of our goalie depth chart. He is a big athlete in the cage. He is very true to the ball. Hs is very good out of the cage. Colin Vickrey and Carter Johnson are the backups. Those are two good young guys. They will continue to get better and push for time.”

Looking forward, Madalon believes his team will have to make the most of each day to improve on the 11-5 record it posted last year as it fell 16-8 to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

“The key for us this year is to make sure that we are great in practice and make sure that every day we come in with the right focus,” said Madalon. “We need to make sure that we are getting better throughout the season and learn from our mistakes. It is a pretty mature group. The preseason happens so quickly, we are excited to get into games. We learn so much about our group over the next two-three weeks.”

That learning process will start with a big test at Penn State this Saturday.

“The opportunity to add them to your schedule was awesome,” said Madalon. “In the past five years, they have been a top 10 team. Our guys always want to try to play the best and we want to provide our guys with the best opportunity. That is a really, really well coached team; that is a great defensive team.”

With the Tigers following the clash against the Nittany Lions with a gauntlet of games that will see it host Maryland on February 22 before playing at Duke on February 28 and North Carolina on March 2, the Tigers will get the chance to see where they stand with the elite programs in the nation.

“We have worked really hard to put ourselves in position where we are ready for this stretch,” said Madalon. “With the sacrifices the guys have made throughout the offseason just to get themselves ready, we just hope we can come together as a team.”