Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 4/9/17
From Press Release
Gavin McBride (Haverford School) has now done something that no one else in the history of Princeton men’s lacrosse has ever done before. Michael Sowers (Upper Dublin) has now done something that only one person has ever done before – but hey, that person is in the lacrosse Hal of Fame.
Princeton record-setter Gavin McBride (Photo by Robert Goldstein)
McBride had his fourth straight game with five goals, a first in Princeton lacrosse history, and Sowers had three goals and an assist, tying him with Kevin Lowe for the most points ever by a Princeton freshman, as the 13th-ranked Tigers defeated Stony Brook 13-11 Saturday night on Long Island.
Neither team ever led by more than two in the game.
McBride came into the game having scored five goals against Penn, Yale and Brown, equaling the feat of Wick Sollers in 1976. McBride then did it once more, with three goals in the final quarter and 11 seconds as Tigers had to rally to win it.
As for Sowers, he had three goals and an assist, giving him 27 goals and 28 assists and matching the 55 points that Lowe had in 1991. Earlier in the game, Sowers had moved past Ryan Boyle, a sure-fire Hall-of-Famer, who had 53 as a freshman in 2001.
The nicest goal of the night was also the one that would put Princeton ahead for good. The score was even at 11-11, when Sowers held possession despite the physical defense from Stony Brook’s Ryland Rees, who kept the freshman from getting his hands free to shoot. Instead, in a blink, Sowers found McBride on the crease, and he cashed it in with 6:55 to go, putting Princeton on top 12-11.
Dawson McKenzie gave Princeton its only two-goal lead, when he rocketed one from Riley Thompson with 4:27 to go. The Seawolves would get no closer.
NOTES
* McBride now has at least three goals in 12 of his last 15 games. He also extended his streaks of consecutive games with at least one goal (19 straight, fifth-best in Division I) and at least one point (38 straight, 10th-best in Division I). McBride now has 84 career goals, tied with Mark Kovler for 18th-best all-time at Princeton.
* Sowers had three first-half goals and then the assist on the McBride goal to win it. Sowers needs one goal to tie Mike Chanenchuk for the most goals ever by a Princeton freshman (28), and with three more goals and two more assists, he’d join David Tickner and Mike MacDonald as the only two players in program history with at least 30 goals and 30 assists in the same season.
* Zach Currier had three goals and an assist, and he now has eight goals and eight assists in the last three games.
* Princeton and Stony Brook were playing for the fifth time. The Tigers won in 1992 and 1993, and Stony Brook won each of the last two years, both by 13-10 scores.
* Princeton was a perfect 10 for 10 on clears. The Tigers came into the game ranked last of 69 teams in Division I in clearing percentage.
* The Tigers are at Lehigh Tuesday night (7) and then finish the regular season with games at Dartmouth, home against Harvard and at Cornell. Princeton is 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the Ivy League.