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NCAA News Archive - 2001
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The NCAA News
NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey -- Princeton may not have had to go into overtime to win its two other most recent championships, but its players weren't exactly venturing where no Tiger had gone before when Syracuse forced them into an extra period in the Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship May 28 at Rutgers Stadium.
So it wasn't much of a surprise that once that point of sudden victory-no return was broached, Princeton walked away the victor, 10-9.
After all, this is a team that had won 10 straight such games and had won its two previous tournament games by one goal each. Beyond that, of the five previous championships to which coach Bill Tierney had guided Princeton squads, three of them -- 1992, 1994 and 1996 -- came in overtime. Even in the pre-weekend press conferences, Towson coach Tony Seaman had half-jokingly said he thought Tierney purposely coached games to set the stage for one-goal finishes.
So, in the last minute of the first and what would be the only sudden-victory period, Princeton's Ryan Boyle stood behind the goal and found teammate B.J. Prager charging toward him for Boyle's third, final and most important assist of the day.
Prager's fourth goal ended the game with 41 seconds remaining in the overtime and earned him most-outstanding-player honors.
"I saw the ball go down on the right side," Prager said. "The defenseman slipped or something but he wasn't on me and I put it in."
After Princeton had sculpted a 3-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, there was little reason for anyone to think the game would ever come to overtime. It marked the first time the Orangemen had been blanked in the first quarter all year. Yet, there was something about that score ... in 1992, Princeton had led Syracuse, 3-0, at the end of the first quarter, and the Tigers eventually won the title by the same 10-9 score.
"We got a little rattled when things didn't go our way in the first half," said Syracuse coach John Desko. "We knew we had to take high-percentage shots, but we didn't do that early and we fell behind."
The Orangemen didn't blow anyone away in the third quarter, either, but they did stay within striking distance.
Spencer Wright started the Syracuse comeback with an unassisted goal with 14:39 left in regulation. Then Michael Powell scored unassisted. Then Brian Solliday, assisted by Wright. Then Wright from Powell. All of a sudden, the score was tied at eight with 7:40 remaining. Momentum clearly had deserted Princeton.
Prager then interrupted the Syracuse onslaught with a goal at the 6:13 mark, but the Orangemen weren't finished yet, nor was Powell. The freshman's unassisted goal with 16 seconds remaining sent the game into overtime, setting the stage for Prager.
The championship was the sixth for Tierney, which gives him the most official titles of any Division I coach. Former Syracuse coach Roy Simmons Jr. is credited with five.
"Winning one-goal games is not about coaching, it's about character (of the players)," Tierney said. "When our players come to Princeton, they are already full of faith and full of character. I can't take credit for that."
The win improved the Tigers' record to 13-1, with the only loss having come against Syracuse, 14-8, on March 25. The win also avenged last year's 12-5 loss to the Orangemen in the title game. Syracuse dropped to 12-3, having lost two other one-goal games, one to Johns Hopkins, 11-10, and one to Loyola (Maryland) in overtime, 14-13.
Princeton's Ryan Mollett, Trevor Tierney, Matt Striebel and Sean Hartofilis joined Prager on the all-tournament team. Syracuse was represented by Michael Springer, who scored six goals in the Orangemen's semifinal win over Towson; Powell; Mulligan; and John Glatzel. The only player to make the team who did not play in the championship game was Towson's Kyle Campbell, who had three goals in the semifinal loss to Princeton.
CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY
Quarterfinals
Syracuse 18, Hofstra 13; Notre Dame 13, Johns Hopkins 9; Towson 12, Maryland 11; Princeton 8, Loyola (Md.) 7.
Semifinals
| Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 -- 5 |
| Syracuse | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 -- 12 |
Notre Dame scoring: Jon Harvey 2, Chris Young 1, Kyle Frigon 1, David Ulrich 1.
Syracuse scoring: Michael Springer 6, Brian Solliday 2, Steve Vallone 1, Spencer Wright 1, Pat Hogan 1, Jason Januszkiewicz 1.
Shots: Notre Dame 32, Syracuse 33. Saves: Notre Dame -- Kirk Howell 14; Syracuse -- Rob Mulligan 11. Attendance: 21,103.
| Princeton | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 -- 12 |
| Towson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 -- 11 |
Princeton scoring: Sean Hartofilis 4, B.J. Prager 3, Matt Bailer 1, Rob Torti 1, Chris Harrington 1, Josh White 1, Brad Dumont 1, Drew Casino, Matt Striebel 1, Joe Rosenbaum 1, Ryan Mollett 1.
Towson scoring: Kyle Campbell 3, Brad Reppert 3, Hunter Lochte 2, Josh Tankersley 1, Ryan Obloj 1, Jay Horowitz 1.
Shots: Princeton 45, Towson 45. Saves: Princeton -- Trevor Tierney 13; Towson -- John Horrigan 14. Attendance: 21,103.
Championship game
| Syracuse | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 -- 9 |
| Princeton | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 -- 10 |
Syracuse scoring: Brian Solliday 2, Pat Hogan 2, Spencer Wright 2, Michael 2, Josh Coffman 1.
Princeton scoring: B.J. Prager 4, Brad Dumont 2, Matt Striebel 2, Owen Daly 1, Rob Torti 1.
Shots: Princeton 48, Syracuse 34. Saves: Syracuse -- Rob Mulligan 14; Princeton -- Trevor Tierney 14. Paid Attendance: 21,286.
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