TOP CAT: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Coulter Mackesy prepares to unload the ball in a game earlier this season. Last Saturday, senior attacker Mackesy tallied one and four assists to help third-seeded Princeton defeat Towson 22-12 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Mackesy’s goal was historic as his tally marked the 164th of his career and broke Jesse Hubbard’s all-time program record. The Tigers, now 13-3, will face sixth-seeded Syracuse (12-5) in the NCAA quarterfinals on May 17 at Hempstead, N.Y. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
It turned out to be a bit of a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at the Class of 1952 Stadium last Saturday when the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team hosted Towson in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
With the loudspeaker blasting the Skynyrd classic “Free Bird” to serenade Princeton goals, the tune was ringing in the fans’ ears as the third-seeded Tigers rolled to a 22-12 win over Towson before a crowd of 1,736.
The onslaught tied the program’s highest goal total in an NCAA game (matching a 22-6 win over Towson in the 1996 NCAA quarters) and it marked the first time that two Princeton players scored five goals in the same NCAA contest as Nate Kabiri and Tucker Wade both had a five-spot. Senior star attacker Coulter Mackesy scored only one goal but it was historic as his tally marked the 164th of his career and broke Jesse Hubbard’s all-time program record.
The Tigers, now 13-3, will face sixth-seeded Syracuse (12-5) in the NCAA quarterfinals on May 17 at Hempstead, N.Y.
Princeton head coach Matt Madalon enjoyed seeing the avalanche of goals.
“In the first half we saw both man and zone and we were successful against both,” said Madalon. “It was just those guys settling in. Obviously getting to 22, that is an outstanding, productive day.”
Junior face-off specialist Andrew McMeekin played a key role in the offensive production, going 20-of-32 on face-offs with 10 ground balls and one goal.
“Meek has been a warrior for us all year,” said Madalon whose team was tied 5-5 with Towson in the second quarter and went on a 7-2 run to break the game open. “As happy as I am with the goals, I am most happy with ground ball possessions and turning the ball upfield and keeping it simple in that part of the game. Any time you get goals off of that, it is an awesome reward for a guy that works so hard.”
Madalon did acknowledged that the Tigers were plagued by some sloppy play even as the attack had an awesome day.
“We unfortunately made too many mistakes,” said Madalon.“We made mistakes on face-off winning violations, offsides, seven failed clears, jogging off the field, and allowing double teams at the end. There is still a ton to work on. For such a mature group to make the mistakes we made today, that is the frustrating part. This is a fine line at this point. May lacrosse has to be really clean. For the most part, we did play a clean game outside the clearing game. We just have to clean that up.”
Mackesy, for his part, has matured into a Tiger lax legend.
“Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t know much about the program and how special it really is and all of the great players that have come before us,” said Mackesy, a 5’10, 185-pound native of Bronxville, N.Y., who now has 41 goals and 19 assists this year and and has piled up 244 points in his career, three points away from tying Kevin Lowe for second place all-time at Princeton. “Over my time here, I have had the chance to meet all of these amazing legends and call them my friends and mentors. I think that is just the beauty of our program that legends like Jesse Hubbard and all of these other guys stick around and really root for us more than anyone else.”
In a week that saw him get drafted fourth overall in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) draft by the Boston Cannons and named as one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the top college player in the country, Mackesy was still able to keep his focus on the clash with Towson.
“It has definitely been a little overwhelming,” said Mackesy. “It was a lot of texts from people who I hadn’t talked to in a while so it has been great to catch up with alumni and friends. I was just focused on this game and now turn the page to next week. It was a great performance all around.”
The record-breaking goal came late in the first quarter on a feed from sophomore attacker Nate Kabiri. “I could not have drawn it up better, getting a pass from Nate on ’52 in the last game here,” said Mackesy, who ended up with four assists in the win over Towson. “Not that I planned that, it is a good way to do it.”
Kabiri, who tallied five goals and two assists in the win, liked the way the Tigers moved the ball against a scrappy Towson defense.
“Towson was a super disruptive team that had a lot of ball pressures and switched between man and zone a lot,” said Kabiri, whose five goals tied his career high. “We knew going into that it was definitely going to be a challenge. Coach [Jim] Mitchell prepared our attack and our middles really well with what we were going to see. It was just sharing the ball today, it just felt great for all of us.”
Sophomore midfielder Wade, who had career highs of five goals and seven points, benefited from that sharing.
“Today I might have been a little more on the receiving end, that is the way the offense and the team overall has been and why we have been so connected,” said Wade. “A lot of those goals, maybe all of them, were off of feeds. It is just that one more mentality. We are just working to get the best opportunity and put ourselves in the best spot; trying to look a little bit away from ourselves and work towards those goals.”
Madalon credited Mackesy with focusing on team rather than individual goals.
“We try to keep our guys under the visor and he does it better than anybody else,” said Madalon of Mackesy. “He has been consistent since he walked on this campus. It has never been about breaking records, it has never been about winning the Tewaaraton. Nothing has changed moving forward. If he gets it, awesome. If not, it is all about the team.”
With Princeton renewing its storied rivalry against Syracuse, which saw the foes meet three straight years (2000-02) in the NCAA championship game, Madalon is looking forward to getting another week with his squad.
“I am just pumped about the opportunity to get this team back to Hempstead and play in a quarterfinal game,” said Madalon, who guided the Tigers to the NCAA Final 4 in 2022.
“That is why these guys make the decision to come to school at Princeton. We are really thrilled, we are just pumped to get back to work with this group. It is a special crew.”
In Madalon’s view, this group has what it takes to win it all this spring.
“That is what we have been telling this crew all season — we have to bring our best and you can beat anyone in the country,” said Madalon. “At this point it doesn’t matter, 13-3, All-Americans, Tewaaraton; we tell our guys it is about the best 60 minutes you can play so that is our goal moving forward.”