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No. 9 Princeton Tops Bulldogs, 9-4
March 24, 2006
Butler put up a strong effort, but ultimately fell at No. 9 Princeton, 9-4, Friday evening in the Class of 1952 Stadium doubleheader in New Jersey. Four Butler players scored in the contest. With the win, the Tigers improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Bulldogs fall to 1-6. The game was a grueling possession-based contest with the teams splitting 16 face-offs. The Tigers held slight advantages in both shots (36-34) and ground balls (23-19), but the teams combined for just 25 clear attempts, converting 24 successfully. After Tiger defenseman Dan Cocoziello scored his first career goal to make it 1-0, Butler responded with a pair of goals 11 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead early in the second. Dan McLoughlin knotted the score at one with a goal before assisting on freshman Will Morgan's first career goal for the 2-1 Butler lead. However, the Tigers turned up their play. The Bulldogs would not score again for nearly 30 minutes, by which time Princeton had built a 6-2 halftime lead and extended it by another goal to 7-2. Sophomore Cliff Smith stopped the six-goal streak by the Tigers with a goal at the 14:11 mark of the fourth period. It was Smith's 12th goal of the season and extended his goal-scoring streak to all seven contests of the 2006 season. Junior Adam Wade found the net for the Bulldogs later in the period to round out the Butler scoring. Wade and fellow newcomer Jeremy Sieverts led the Bulldogs with six shots apiece. Junior Carlos Navarro had a team-high four ground balls. Ryan Kaiser made 14 saves for Butler.
Mark Kovler led Princeton with three goals. Princeton goalie Alex Hewit made 15 saves, helping Tigers' coach Bill Tierney to his 200th win on the Princeton sidelines. The Princeton win came in the second game of a Class of 1952 Stadium doubleheader that opened with Bellarmine's 9-4 win over 16th-ranked Binghamton. The lacrosse weekend continues Sunday, when Butler plays Bellarmine at 11 a.m. followed by Princeton and Binghamton. |
