FACE TIME: Princeton University men’s lacrosse faceoff specialist Andrew McMeekin, right, goes after the ball in recent action. Last Saturday, senior McMeekin combined with freshman Russ Fitzgerald to dominate at the X to help No. 3 Princeton defeat No. 14 Rutgers 20-9. McMeekin went 16-for-23 on faceoffs and Fitzgerald was 6 for 8 as the Tigers improved to 4-1. Princeton opens Ivy League action by playing at Yale on March 14. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Justin Feil
The Princeton University men’s lacrosse team has a powerhouse offense and a stalwart defense and goalie.
Neither unit would be as effective, though, if it weren’t for great faceoff specialists, and that’s why senior Andrew McMeekin and freshman Russ Fitzgerald are so vital to the Tigers.
“That’s our only hope down the stretch is you need two guys to be able to do it,” said Princeton head coach Matt Madalon. “You also need the competition in practice, otherwise you’re not good enough. So it helps us most in practice, and I’m glad it’s continuing to help us on game day.”
McMeekin went 16 for 23 on faceoffs and Fitzgerald was 6 for 8 to help the Tigers win their fourth straight game, 20-9, over Rutgers on Saturday at Princeton’s Class of 1952 Stadium. The duo won 11 of the first 12 faceoffs as Princeton jumped out to a 9-2 first-quarter lead. By halftime, the Tigers had a 14-3 lead thanks to a 15-4 edge in faceoffs. They’ve won 58 percent in the last three games after winning 40 percent of faceoffs in an opening-season loss to Penn State and a victory over Maryland.
“In the first four games we played some of the best guys in the country and we understood kind of quick where the gaps that we needed to fill were and we’ve been working really hard to fix those,” said McMeekin. “So I think we’ve just had a really good build-up from the last couple weeks and it kind of showed early in this game here.”
By the end of the third quarter, Princeton had opened a 19-5 lead before the Tigers shuttled in more reserves in the fourth quarter to retain the Tots Meistrell Cup in the annual matchup of in-state rivals. Both came into the game with one loss apiece, but Princeton improved to 4-1 over the Scarlet Knights, who fell to 5-2.
“It was just a good start,” said Madalon. “We play this game year in and year out and it’s like a one-goal game, it’s always a battle. So I was anticipating nothing different. I think we had a very fortunate start that tilted the field. So it just gave us a little cushion.”
Thanks to the Tigers faceoff unit, the ball didn’t even get into their defensive end for the first five minutes. That gave Princeton plenty of chances to score, and they took advantage. Colin Burns led the Tigers with six points on four goals and two assists, Nate Kabiri scored once and had four assists, Tyler Wade also had four goals to go with an assist, Parker Reynolds posted a career-high four points on a goal and three assists, Peter Buonanno and Chad Palumbo each had two goals and an assist apiece and Porter Malkiel scored twice in his first action of the season.
“That’s everything for us,” said Fitzgerald. “We definitely value transition and playing really fast. And I think today we gave the offense a lot of opportunities to put the ball in the back of that. That’s all we can really do.”
It started from the outset with McMeekin winning the first faceoff cleanly and ripping a shot that bounded off the Rutgers goalie and post before Kabiri scored off the rebound. It was 1-0 eight seconds into the game. Less than a minute later, it was 2-0. Barely over three minutes in, it was 4-0. The 9-2 first quarter against Rutgers goalie Cardin Stoller was Princeton’s best offensive quarter of the early season.
“Execution wise, yes, just from lack of turnovers, lack of perimeter turnovers, organization,” said Madalon. “And that’s a really great goalie. So I was shocked we got to him and were that successful. But he’s great. He’ll be great the rest of the year.”
The Tigers scored in a variety of ways. And with the faceoff unit highly effective, there was no letup in the pressure on the Rutgers D.
“Most of the wins that our faceoff unit got was from the 3v3 and the wings got plenty of ground balls,” McMeekin said. “And even if they didn’t get ground balls, they allowed us to pick it up. So that’s kind of the holistic picture that we’re kind of pushing towards getting us really to where we need to be.”
The defensive end didn’t make it any easier for Rutgers. Ryan Croddick had 10 saves in 50 minutes. He helped the lead continue to grow until the fourth quarter brought liberal substitutions. Princeton will try to continue its winning streak and improve further at Yale on March 14 in its Ivy League opener.
“The devil’s in the details and I think that even today we didn’t play our best game,” said Fitzgerald. “The scoreboard might say otherwise, but we know deep down that we didn’t. So really just focusing on the little things and doing what we as the faceoff unit can do to put the offense in the best position to put the ball back of the net.”
The duo figures prominently in the Tigers’ success going forward. They are both products of the Philadelphia area. They went to different schools with the 6’1, 225-pound McMeekin graduating from Episcopal Academy while 5’10, 210-pound Fitzgerald started high school at Penn Charter before finishing his final three seasons at Taft in Connecticut. They grew up training in the same Philly Faceoff League.
“I’ve seen him there since he was in sixth grade and I’m was like, this kid’s kicking everyone’s butt in middle school,” said McMeekin. “I’m so glad to have him on my side now.”
They’ve made a good 1-2 faceoff combo at a time when a new rules change necessitates it. If a faceoff specialist commits a violation, they cannot take the next faceoff. Both have to be prepared to play any time. McMeekin has helped to mentor Fitzgerald.
“He’s kind of just taking me under his wing and showing me the ropes a little bit and kind of how this whole college faceoff thing works,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s great to have a guy like him to compete with in practice. Iron really sharpens iron and we get after each other in practice and that’s all you can really ask for.”
McMeekin was in Fitzgerald’s shoes three years ago. He has been Princeton’s main faceoff specialist since midway through his freshman season. He set a program record with 132 ground balls last season. He won 55 percent of faceoffs as a sophomore and 57 percent over the final 11 games last year. Fitzgerald has gotten off to a solid start winning 59 percent of his faceoffs thanks to a big day Saturday.
“Russ has been taking the transition seamlessly,” said McMeekin.
“It’s really impressive. He helps me get better every day and it’s really impressive what he’s been able to do as a freshman. When I was coming in as a freshman, I took a decent amount of reps my first year and he’s way ahead of where I was already. So it’s fantastic that he’s been able to come in if I go early and just seamlessly kind of take over if he needs to. So it’s really good having that one-two punch and he’s been killing it.”
As good as their Saturday numbers were, the two are still thinking about the faceoffs that they lost. They want to continue to improve, the same attitude that the team shares. It’s what has given the Tigers confidence while putting together a four-game winning streak.
“Just the way that we can turn the page so easily and every week make sure we’re pushing to be a better version of ourselves and slowly improving every week has been really impressive,” said McMeekin. “It’s helping our team push further. So it’s been a great couple of weeks.”