SEEING RED: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Coulter Mackesy, right, looks to elude a Maryland defender last Saturday. Senior attacker Mackesy tallied three goals and an assist in the game but it wasn’t enough as then-No. 5 Princeton fell 13-9 to the second-ranked Maryland. The Tigers, now 1-1 and ranked eighth, play at No. 7 Duke (4-0) on February 28 and at No. 4 North Carolina (3-0) on March 2. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In its five games against powerhouse Maryland in the previous three seasons, the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team has gone 0-5, never leading at any point in those contests and getting outscored by a combined 19-6 in the first quarter.

As fifth-ranked Princeton hosted No. 2 Maryland last Saturday at Class of 1952 Stadium, the Tigers were determined to flip the script in the high noon showdown with the Terps.

In the view of Tiger star senior attacker and team captain Coulter Mackesy being patient on offense was a key part of the game plan.

“They are a super disciplined team so we wanted to try to use the whole shot clock and grind them down and try to beat them in transition and in the middle of the field,” said Mackesy.

With a packed house of 1,643 turning out on a chilly, sun-sprawled afternoon, the Tigers jumped out to a 4-2 lead midway through the first quarter.

“We were shooting the ball well, not settling for shots, and putting them in the back of the net,” said Mackesy, who tallied two goals and an assist to spark that early run.

But the Tigers hit a lull after that promising start, getting outscored 6-0 over the rest of the half.

“They are super disciplined, the windows are really tight, and they have a great goalkeeper,” said Mackesy, in assessing the challenges posed by the stingy Terp defense. “It is all-around tough competition.”

While Princeton drew to within 8-6 early in the third quarter on a goal by sophomore star Nate Kabiri, it ended up being the same old story for the Tigers as they fell 13-9 to Maryland in moving to 1-1.

“Later on in the game we settled a bit, the shots didn’t go our way,” said Mackesy, who tallied a fourth quarter goal to give him three goals and an assist on the afternoon. “All around, I think we beat ourselves.”

Although Princeton came up short again against the Terps, Mackesy believes Princeton is closing the gap.

“We played average lacrosse but it was close game,” said Mackesy. “We are going to learn a ton from it.”

With a team-high eight goals and 10 points through two games, Mackesy is playing well above average as he looks to spark the Tiger offense.

“I am just trying to lead this team back to where we haven’t been in a while and trying to get a young group riding this wave,” said Mackesy, a 5’10, 185-pound native of Bronxville, N.Y., who now has 131 career goals, the fourth-most in program history. “I couldn’t be more confident in this group, I can’t wait to get back next week.”

Mackesy has a lot of confidence in his attack line which includes sophomore stars Colin Burns and Kabiri.

“They grew up a ton last year, they are definitely not freshmen or sophomores anymore,” said Mackesy. “I couldn’t trust them anymore. They are two of my best friends off the field so that makes it easy and fun to play with them.”

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon had fun watching his squad get off to the early lead against the Terps.

“We like getting up and down the field, we wanted to play some early offense,” said Madalon. “We had some pace in the first quarter. The offense ran some good set pieces and we ended up capitalizing on some plays. We preach shot selection more than anything.”

In the second quarter, the Tigers misfired with their shooting as they were blanked by Maryland.

“I don’t think our shots were great in the second quarter,” said Madalon. “We weren’t getting in the right spots. I think if we look at that, we will be a little frustrated. You have to shoot well to beat these guys.”

Trailing 8-4 heading into the second half, Madalon believed the Tigers could right the ship.

“It was stay clean in the clears, stay clean in the subs and not give up any unnecessary transition and we figured we would be right back in the game,” said Madalon. “We shifted into a zone defense in the second half to try to slow them down.”

Madalon credited Mackesy with having a big game. “He is our guy, he is our leader,” said Madalon of Mackesy. “We have got to get him going in all different aspects of the game. We also need the supporting cast as well.”

Facing a gauntlet of nationally-ranked foes in the early going, Princeton needs to get up to speed in order to hold its own.

“We try to start fast with our schedule, we are not going to let up,” said Madalon. “We are just trying to get better every single day. To play Penn State was an early test (an 11-10 overtime win on February 15) and to play Maryland, you learn a lot about yourselves.”

With the Tigers, now ranked eighth, playing at No. 7 Duke (4-0) on February 28 and at No. 4 North Carolina (3-0) on March 2, they will look to apply those lessons.

“Right back at it,” said Madalon with a chuckle. “We will come back and watch the tape. At this point of the season we have to get a better Princeton brand, we have to focus on ourselves.”

Mackesy, for his part, is ready to get back at it. “It is just take it one by one,” said Mackesy. “We will turn the page, learn from it, and start preparing for Duke.”