Rutgers Falls to No. 7 Princeton, 11-5
Apr 25 | Men's Lacrosse
PRINCETON, N.J - A five-goal second period triggered Princeton's offense as the Tigers defeated Rutgers, 11-5, on Tuesday night in men's lacrosse action at Class of 1952 Stadium.?? With the win, Princeton takes back possession of the Harland (Tots) Meistrell Cup, which had spent the past 365 days in Piscataway.
The Meistrell Cup, which is awarded annually to the winner of the game, had been held by Rutgers since last year's 8-5 win over Princeton. The Tigers had won the previous 15 meetings before 2005.
Freshman Matt Kovler, junior Peter Trombino and sophomore Alex Haynie had two goals each for Princeton, which marked the first time in three games that a Tiger player had scored more than one in a game. Scott Sowanick had a goal and three assists.?? The Tigers peppered senior goalie Greg Havalchak (Corning, NY) with 39 shots, exactly three times as many as they generated in a 4-3 loss to Cornell last Saturday.?? Havalchak finished with 13 saves.
Five different players scored for Rutgers, including junior Matt Gaines (Abingdon, MD), senior Austin Rodgers (Baltimore, MD), junior Chris Doctor (Skaneateles, NY), freshman Tad Stanwick (Baltimore, MD) and junior Colin Checcio (Radnor, PA).?? The Scarlet Knights finished with 31 shots, but Princeton goalie Alex Hewitt, who leads the nation in save percentage, turned away 13 shots.??
Book-end goals in the first quarter gave Rutgers a 2-1 lead, beginning when Gaines (Abingdon, scored unassisted just two minutes into the contest and finishing when Rodgers came from around the back of the net and connected on a shot from five yards out.?? In between, Princeton opened its scoring on a Sowanick goal
Princeton gained possession to start the second quarter after a procedure violation on the face-off, and Josh Lesko cashed in just seven seconds later to tie the score at 2-2. Within the next 10 minutes, the Tigers seized control of the game, as Rich Sgalardi, Peter Trombino, Zach Goldberg and finally Kovler scored to make it 6-2. Even after Rutgers scored again before halftime, Princeton scored the first four of the second half to make it 10-3.
Gaines, who has scored 10 goals in the past four games, increased point total to 23 (19 goals, four assists).?? Stanwick, the ECAC Rookie of the Week on April 17, has a goal in each of the last three games.
The Scarlet Knights return to action on Saturday, April 29, when they host fifth-ranked Georgetown at Yurcak Field (1:00 p.m.).?? Prior to the contest, Rutgers will honor its 11-member senior class.
Lacrosse Box Score (Final)
2006 Rutgers Men's Lacrosse
Rutgers vs #7 Princeton (Apr 25, 2006 at Princeton, N.J.)
Rutgers (5-7) vs. SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
Princeton (8-4) -------------------------------------
Date: Apr 25, 2006 Attendance: 1210 Rutgers............. 2 1 0 2 - 5
Weather: 60s, chance of thunderstorms Princeton........... 1 5 3 2 - 11
Rutgers SCORING: GOALS: Checcio, Colin 1; Rodgers, Austin 1; Gaines, Matt 1;
Doctor, Chris 1; Stanwick, Tad 1.
ASSISTS: None.
Princeton SCORING: GOALS: Trombino, Peter 2; Haynie, Alex 2; Kovler, Mark 2;
Sowanick, Scott 1; Lesko, Josh 1; Wenzel, Michael 1; Goldberg, Zach 1; Sgalardi,
Rich 1.
ASSISTS: Sowanick, Scott 3; Haynie, Alex 1; Lesko, Josh 1; Schneider, Bob 1;
Trombino, Peter 1.
SHOTS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 7 7 7 10 - 31
Princeton........... 10 12 10 7 - 39
GROUND BALLS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Rutgers............. 5 5 6 5 - 21
Princeton........... 4 7 10 5 - 26
FACE-OFFS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 2-3 4-7 1-3 2-5 - 9-18
Princeton........... 1-3 3-7 2-3 3-5 - 9-18
CLEARS BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 5-7 3-4 4-4 2-6 - 14-21
Princeton........... 4-5 5-6 5-6 1-1 - 15-18
EXTRA-MAN OPPS 1 2 3 4 Total
----------------------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 - 0-1
Princeton........... 0-0 1-1 0-1 0-0 - 1-2
SAVES BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 4 3 4 2 - 13
Princeton........... 4 3 5 2 - 14
TURNOVERS BY PRD 1 2 3 4 Tot
-------------------------------------
Rutgers............. 0 0 0 0 - 0
Princeton........... 0 0 0 0 - 0
PENALTIES - Rutgers 2/1:30; Princeton 1/0:30.
