Princeton is headed to the Final Four behind head coach Matt Madalon as they got their revenge on the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday in the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinals.
When No. 8-seeded Penn State and the top-seeded Princeton Tigers faced off on Sunday, it was a little different than the Nittany Lions’ 13-7 blowout win against the Tigers in February. It was an early statement in the season for Penn State, but the Tigers got the last laugh on Sunday.
Penn State’s national title hopes came to an end Sunday, falling to the top-ranked Tigers 14-10, in a hard-fought battle on the scorching hot turf in Delaware. This game was gritty and physical to say the least; it was back and forth throughout, with Penn State at one point being ahead 10-9.
Princeton pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring five straight goals. The Tigers did exactly as expected with their explosive offense getting going quickly, but to get to the promised land (Memorial Day weekend) they need to be less sloppy. Princeton had 13 turnovers against the Lions, and a lot were from clearing the ball and very minor mistakes that the Tigers should be able to clean up for the semifinals.
The Tigers enter championship weekend with a 10-game win streak and are rolling. Nate Kabiri, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, ranks seventh nationally in points-per-game and has been the engine driving the Princeton offense all season. Even though he had a quieter game on Sunday, it just shows how many weapons the Tigers have to get the job done. Wade Tucker was the headliner against Penn State with four goals, as he has exploded late in the season.
The face-off unit for Princeton was a huge factor in the gritty win against the Lions. Andrew McMeekin is Princeton’s all-time career leader in face-off wins with 670, and the program’s 247 face-off wins this season are the most in program history. The Tigers dominated as they beat PSU 19-8 in face-off wins.
The downfall of Penn State’s season was turnovers down the stretch. They also were outshot and could not get any offense going late in the game. Head Coach Jeff Tambroni and the Penn State team had a great season and fought hard until the end, as they ended their season at 10-6.
Princeton will next face the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, in the NCAA national semifinals.
