CATCHING FIRE: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Colin Burns unloads the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, sophomore attacker Burns scored three goals to help Princeton defeat Vermont 10-5. It marked the third straight hat trick for Burns. The No. 3 Tigers, now 8-2, host Brown on April 12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Colin Burns produced a solid start this spring in his sophomore season for the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team, scoring nine goals in the team’s first seven games.

But over the last week, star attacker Burns has caught fire, coming up with three-goal performances in three straight games as Princeton edged Dartmouth 11-8 on March 29, topped Lehigh 17-12 on April 1, and then defeated Vermont 10-5 last Saturday.

In reflecting on his latest hat trick in the win over the Catamounts which improved the Tigers to 8-2 overall, Burns attributed his scoring surge to fitting in with the Princeton offense.

“I am just trying to do a good job of playing off of guys,” said Burns. “We have a ton of good dodgers on the team. I really just want to be one of the pieces that connect it. My teammates are doing a great job of finding me, I play with great players. We are very deep on offense. It is a testament to the guys doing a really good job in practice and them trusting me.”

The squad’s top offensive player, senior star Coulter Mackesy, got the Tigers off to a great start against Vermont, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 6:49 of the contest.

“Coulter really is a tone setter, he has been our captain for the team and on offense the whole year,” said Burns. “He does a great job of setting the tone and leading us through his actions, not just his words.”

Playing on a line with Mackesy and fellow sophomore and former high school teammate Nate Kabiri has helped Burns raise the level of his game.

“It is awesome — I would like to say I am fueled off of his energy,” said Burns. “He and Nate play hard. They play with a ton of intensity and just seeing that helps me.”

The connection Burns developed with Kabiri during their scholastic career at Georgetown Prep has also fueled his production.

“Nate and I stated playing club sophomore year of high school and then he transferred to my high school for junior and senior year,” said Burns, a 6’1, 200-pound native of Potomac, Md. “This is now our fourth year playing together at school and fifth year total. Nate is an unbelievable player, he has always got his head up. We always know where each other are. It is a ton of fun playing with him.”

While it was fun for Princeton to win against Vermont in its last non-conference game, Burns acknowledges that the Tigers have just scratched the surface of how good they can be.

“It is our third game in seven days — we still haven’t played a full game of 60 minutes,” said Burns. “We have had good stretches but we haven’t put it together fully. We showed glimpses of that again today but sill weren’t able to fully pout 60 minutes together. It was still a solid win, we got better in a lot of phases. We were 100 percent clearing the ball (25-for-25) which was awesome. Ground balls were big. We can definitely do a better job finishing games.”

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon was looking for his team to hone its game as it played Vermont.

“We have three games in seven days with it being our last out of conference, and it was continue to get better,” said Madalon. “We came out of Lehigh on this Tuesday and we struggled in the clearing game. It was just sloppy. We had two light but sharp practices and the guys wanted to right some wrongs there. I think statistically we cleared the ball excellent today.”

While the Tigers showed progress, Madalon acknowledged that there is plenty of room for growth.

“I think the frustrating moments come when we probably played 50 of 60 minutes,” said Madalon. “We are still in pursuit of the best version of ourselves.”

As usual, Princeton got some good minutes from Mackesy, who ended up with four goals in the win over the Catamounts.

“Any time he gets us off and running, we are always so confident when the ball is on his stick,” said Madalon. “He always steps up for us.”

Madalon likes that way Burns has been stepping up in recent games.

“I think it was in the third quarter where we hadn’t scored and hit a little drought and Burnsie cashed in on two,” said Madalon. “That really helped cement the game for us. He is making great plays, he is doing a nice job.”

The Tigers also got solid production from the midfield as Chad Palumbo scored two goals with Peter Buonanno chipping in two assists and Tucker Wade adding one assist.

“I thought the first line did a good job,” said Madalon. “We are going to have to continue to work through our midfield stuff and hopefully play our best lacrosse is coming up.”

Andrew McMeekin has been giving Princeton some good stuff at the face-off X.

“Meeks keeps getting better at the face-off,” said Madalon of McMeekin, who went 7-of-14 on face-offs against Vermont. “He hasn’t had a week off, he faces the best guys in the nation. As long as he keeps scrapping and keeps working, we will be happy there.”

Although Madalon is happy with Princeton’s 8-2 start, he is far from satisfied.

“I think that we still have room for growth, any game you win. you are thrilled,” said Madalon, whose team will look for its fifth straight win as it hosts Brown on April 12. “You just want to keep finding the best version of yourself. That is always our mindset here so we are never really content.”

In Madalon’s view, achieving that best version starts on the practice field.

“It is just the intensity in practice,” said Madalon. “We have got to be really smart there. We have got to be sharp and hard. We can’t let the foot off the gas.”

Burns concurs, believing that working hard in practice will result in Princeton peaking at the right time.

“I think the key thing is that we have been winning games but still not playing our best lacrosse so that is a good thing because we know we can be better,” said Burns. “At the same time, it is April. We want to start to playing our best lacrosse now so that is our thought process and just really try to put 60 minutes together next week. I think it starts in practice, really having a great week in practice and putting together a stretch of three or four good practices before Saturday. That is really the key.”