SHOWING PRIDE: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Gavin McBride races up the field in action last season. This past Saturday, senior attacker McBride tallied three goals and an assist in a losing cause as Princeton fell 11-10 at Hofstra in overtime. McBride scored with 3:41 in regulation as the Tigers rallied for a 10-8 deficit to the Pride to make it 10-10 and force overtime. Princeton, now 1-1, plays at No. 13 Johns Hopkins (1-2) on March 5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After rolling to a 21-4 win against an overmatched NJIT team in its season opener, the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team faced a much sterner test in its second outing when it played at 13th-ranked Hofstra last Saturday.

The Pride was coming off a 10-5 win over North Carolina and featured a rising star in attackman Josh Byrne.

But picking up where it left off in the rout over NJIT, Princeton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead over Hofstra. But the Pride answered with three straight goals of its own and the contest turned into a tight battle, as expected.

At halftime, the Tigers were clinging to a 6-5 lead and Princeton head coach Chris Bates knew his team was in for a dogfight.

“You knew it was a close game and a nip and tuck game; we have talked repeatedly that we are going to be in one-goal games every week,” said Bates.

“We were up 6-4 and had possession of the ball and felt like we had not a great decision in terms of trying to thread the needle on a pass. We gave them an opportunity to get a goal late so they got a little bit of momentum. We were just disappointed there because a two-goal lead in a one goal game is going to make a difference.”

Riding that momentum, Hofstra forged ahead and led 10-8 with 6:11 left in the fourth quarter. Showing heart, the Tigers responded with two straight goals to knot the game at 10-10 and force overtime.

“Once they got up two, we were pleased that we showed the composure and the grittiness to come back,” said Bates, who got goals from Bobby Weaver and Gavin McBride to draw even. “I thought we showed a lot of character throughout.”

But starting overtime by losing a face-off on what appeared to be a Hofstra pushing foul to the Tiger sideline, Princeton never saw the ball in the extra session as Byrne scored in just 14 seconds.

“I always think we are going to win in overtime, you kind of have to,” said Bates. “You realize that it is a one-play game now and it ended quickly.”

While the loss was stinging, Bates thought the Tigers made plenty of good plays in the afternoon.

“The final score notwithstanding, we were pleased on a lot of levels with how we executed,” said Bates.

“We felt we played with a lot of emotion and did a lot of good things. I think Hofstra is a good team, I think that will bear out throughout the season. We prepared well and I felt we were ready to go. I thought we competed, first and foremost and really executed a game plan pretty well.”

The Tigers executed well at the offensive end as senior attackman and captain Ryan Ambler was the catalyst with two goals and four assists while junior attackman McBride chipped in three goals and an assist and senior midfielder Weaver contributed two goals.

“Ryan Ambler was outstanding, not just the numbers of being two and four but he just commanded and played hard and tough,” said Bates.

“The guys followed his lead, he is kind of the alpha dog now offensively. Gav did a nice job finishing. Bobby, who had been hurt, did a nice job, playing within himself, cashing in on his opportunities. It was nice to see him rewarded for hard work and taking next steps.”

Next up, the Tigers face another big challenge as they play at perennial power 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins (1-2) on March 5.

“It is always a big game here with the history and the tradition; I think both teams are still finding themselves here a little bit,” said Bates.

“Hopkins has lost their last two but they are always talented. They are always competitive and they are always well coached so we need to take next steps. We can’t expect to play the same way we did this past weekend and hope to be in a one-goal game.”

In order to pull out the game, Princeton will need to step up at both ends of the field.

“We gave up two goals off of face-offs, which is something that comes back to haunt you,” said Bates.

“We need some better decision-making on the offensive end with some passing decisions. Defensively, we just need to become a better unit and communicate more directly with each other. We need to save the ball better. We need a full team effort to beat a team like Hopkins.”