Box Score GENEVA, N.Y. – The fifth-ranked Princeton University lacrosse team made a last minute appeal to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee this afternoon with a convincing win over 12th-ranked Hobart College, 12-6. Princeton senior Josh Sims (Edgewater, Md.) led all scorers with five goals, while senior Kevin DeWall (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) paced the Statesmen with a goal and two assists.
Junior Matt Striebel (Gill, Mass.) gave the Tigers (10-2) the early lead at the 9:50 mark of the first quarter with the first of his three points (2-1) on the day. A minute later, DeWall finished a feed from classmate Jamie Breslin (Mountain Lakes/Mountain Lakes, N.J.) to even the contest.
Princeton netted the next eight goals, including three straight tallies from Sims, to head into the locker room with a 9-1 lead. The Tigers, who earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Ivy League, made a convincing argument for one of the four first round byes in the NCAA Tournament. Their argument gained momentum when coupled with the loss of No. 3 Loyola to No. 6 Johns Hopkins, 16-12, and No. 4 Georgetown's 24-16 loss to second-ranked Syracuse.
After the break, Hobart (7-6) made a bid to get back in the game, courtesy of its special teams play. Playing a man-down early in the third quarter, senior Jared Bebee (West Genesee/Syracuse, N.Y.) and junior Jason Ouellet (Avon Old Farms/Cheshire, Conn.) scored back-to-back goals 13 seconds apart to end the Statesmen's 27-minute scoring drought. Bebee scored again, this time on an extra-man opportunity, at the 3:10 mark of the third off an assist by DeWall to get Hobart within five, 9-4.
Bebee's tallies extended his consecutive games with at least a point streak to 40, while DeWall's two helpers moved him into a tie for 12th place on Hobart's all-time list with Matt Crowther '96.
The Tigers thwarted the Statesmen's comeback attempt with three straight goals to push their lead back to eight, 12-4, with just under 12 minutes to play.
Senior Spencer Niebuhr (Stony Brook/Smithtown, N.Y.) and defenseman David Cain (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) added the final scores of the afternoon at the 10:46 and the 0:21 marks, respectively.
Senior James Murtha (Manhasset/Manhasset, N.Y.) made a career-high 19 saves for Hobart, while junior Trevor Tierney (Princeton, N.J.) made 14 stops for Princeton.
The Statesmen, who also earned an automatic bid by winning the Patriot League, will host the North First Round Doubleheader on Sat., May 13. The first game is scheduled to begin at noon with the second game starting approximately 45 minutes after the completion of the first. The NCAA selection show will air at on Sun., May 7, at 7:30 p.m. on the Empire Sports Network.
Information concerning the teams selected to play in Geneva, as well as information on requesting media credentials will be faxed out tomorrow evening after the selection show.
–HWS SPORTS–
