Princeton is headed to the Final Four behind head coach Matt Madalon as they get their revenge on the Nittany Lions.
When No. 8-seeded Penn State and the top-seeded Princeton Tigers faced off this past Sunday, it was a little different than the Nittany Lions’ blowout win against the Tigers in February earlier this season, which ended in a 13-7 dominant win over Princeton. It was an early statement in the season, but the Tigers got the last laugh.
Penn State’s national title hopes came to an end this Sunday, falling to the top-ranked Princeton 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 the game with Penn State at one point being ahead 10-9.
Princeton pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring five straight goals. Top-seeded Princeton was exactly as I expected with their explosive offense getting going quickly, but to get to the promised land (Memorial Day weekend) it has to be less sloppy. Princeton had 13 turnovers this game, and a lot were from clearing the ball and very minor mistakes that they should be able to clean up and look sharper for the semifinals.
The Tigers enter championship weekend with a 10-game win streak, and they are rolling. Nate Kabiri, a Tewaaraton Award finalist, ranks seventh nationally in points-per-game and has been the engine driving this offense all season. Even though he had a quieter game this past Sunday, it just shows how many weapons the Tigers have to get the job done. Wade Tucker was the headliner for this contest with four goals, as he has exploded late in the season.
The face-off unit for Princeton was a huge factor in this gritty win. 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. They 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 couldn’t 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 with them ending their season going 10-6.
Princeton will be on their way to face the Duke Blue Devils on May 23 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
