STICKING WITH IT: Princeton University men’s lacrosse player Cooper Kistler runs down a Dartmouth player in action last Saturday. Senior longstick midfielder and team co-captain Kistler helped No. 2 Princeton defeat Dartmouth 17-9 as the Tigers improved to 11-2 overall and 5-1 Ivy League. In so doing, Princeton clinched a tie with Cornell for the Ivy regular season title. The Tigers are next in action when they compete in the Ivy postseason tournament where they are seeded second and will face third-seeded Yale in a semifinal contest on May 1 in Ithaca, N.Y. The victor will advance to the final on May 3 against the winner of the other semi between top-seeded Cornell and fourth-seeded Harvard. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
When Cooper Kistler joined the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team in the fall of 2022, he was in over his head a bit.
“I came in from San Francisco as a freshman,” said Kistler. “I wasn’t surrounded by as much high-level lacrosse there.”
Over his Tiger career, Kistler has raised the level of his game, developing into a star longstick midfielder and a team co-captain.
In reflecting on his progress, Kistler attributes a lot of it to being surrounded by his skilled teammates.
“The coolest thing is to be able to play now at the highest level and play with some of the best players,” said Kistler. “These guys are incredibly talented. It is such a good opportunity to be able to play with the best talent and the ride the roller-coaster that we have got.”
Last Saturday, Kistler enjoyed an incredible Senior Day as No. 2 Princeton defeated Dartmouth 17-9 at Class of 1952 Stadium to improve to 11-2 overall and 5-1 Ivy League. In so doing, the Tigers clinched a tie with Cornell for the Ivy regular season title.
“I love this team more than anything, it has been a really special four years,” said Kistler, a 6’2, 210-pound native of Tiburon, Calif. “I started freshman year looking up to all of the seniors so to think that this day finally comes is a little scary but an honor to be here. It is so special because you have a group of guys. Some play and have had amazing careers with tons of stats and there are also a group of guys that haven’t played but are the heart and soul of this team.”
Things didn’t start so well for the Tigers as they found themselves tied 5-5 with the Big Green heading into the second quarter in a game played in a downpour.
“There is always an aspect defensively of winning your one-on-one matchup,” said Kistler. “To start the game, we didn’t do our best one-on-one and once we started tightening up, things got a little cleaner.”
The Tigers clamped down as they rolled to 17-9 win to secure their share of the Ivy crown.
“A huge portion of it and how we were playing was winning one-on-one matchups, that is something that we needed to do there,” said a drenched Kistler, clutching an Ivy League championship banner from the team’s on-field celebration after the win. “A key was winning one-on-one matchups, bluffing out some dodges and limiting our sliding.”
Helping Princeton win the title made the Senior Day even more memorable for Kistler.
“This is something I have never done in my time here,” said Kistler. “I think it was 2015 since the last time we did this. This is something that is really cool for us.”
The Tiger defensive unit has done well as it has gone with some new faces this spring.
“Our defensive unit doesn’t get a ton of love,” said Kistler, who has scooped up 16 ground balls this spring with six caused turnovers.
“Something we pride ourselves on is playing team defense. You have seen us pack it in a little more and focus on condensed defense and owning our space. A guy like Jack Stahl has come on the scene to be an All-American. We are so lucky we have one of the best goalies in the cage in Ryan Croddick. At the end of the day, he is our best defender. We can play to his advantage and he bails us out all of the time.”
Kistler has loved serving as a team captain. “Being captain is such an honor, it is a special group because of the commitment that the guys have to the team,” said Kistler. “You hear us right after we win, guys are chanting ‘team, team, team.’ It is never who is doing what, it is always team, team, team. That is truly what we pride ourselves on, that is what has given us our success. Our culture is just so strong and unmatched.”
With the Tigers next in action when they compete in the Ivy postseason tournament where they are seeded second and will face third-seeded Yale in a semifinal contest on May 1 in Ithaca, N.Y., Kistler is confident that that the Tigers will produce a strong effort against an improving Bulldog squad that Princeton edged 11-10 on March 14. The victor of that clash will advance to the final on May 3 against the winner of the other semi between top-seeded Cornell and fourth-seeded Harvard.
“Yale is talented, they dodge really hard and do well one-on-one,” said Kistler. “So for us, it is the details that win us the game. We are lucky enough to say that we have some really talented and skilled offensive players and defensive players. What wins games for us is the details on ground balls and effort. So if we can put together a full 60 minutes of clean stick work, ground balls, and effort, I think the sky is the limit for us.”
Princeton head coach Matt Madalon likes the effort he has gotten from his Class of 2026.
“You start every year and you ask your whole team to look at your seniors because they are going to set the standard,” said Madalon. “We needed that group today. We went out with a game plan of do the little things right and honor those guys properly. It is a good crew, I am glad they got it done on 52.”
Kistler epitomizes the standard set by that senior crew. “Coop has been awesome, he has done such a good job for us as a leader all year,” said Madalon. “He has been playing bigger moments as he has been coming off his injury, he has been great.”
The Tigers experienced some rough moments in the early going against the Big Green.
“It was a slow start for us, we just didn’t capitalize offensively,” said Madalon. “We made a couple of clearing mistakes. Once we settled in, the possession thing was probably too much for them to overcome.”
The defense settled in as it only allowed two goals for a 42-minute span from late in the first quarter to 2:18 left in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think we had a save statistic in the first half so I think being able to get a couple of saves and stack some stops was key,” said Madalon.
The Tigers got some big offensive stats in the win from star attackers Chad Palumbo and Nate Kabiri as senior Palumbo tallied four goals and three assists while junior Kabiri chipped in three goals and three assists.
“Any time you can have seven points that is great, Chad is a leader down there for us,” said Madalon, who also got some superb stats from senior faceoff specialist Andrew McMeekin who won 19-of-21 faceoffs and was later named the Ivy Defensive Player of the Week. “We always want him playing his best, he did a really nice job. Kab had six points, he did an awesome job.”
Getting the Ivy regular season crown was an awesome step for the Tigers.
“It hasn’t happened here since 2015,” said Madalon. “We share the title. We would like to get it outright one of these days but it is an incredible accomplishment for our crew.”
Looking ahead to postseason play, Madalon knows that his team can’t rest on that accomplishment.
“We have had some good practices, it is a team that trains well,” said Madalon. “We are excited for the next couple of weeks. It is a matter of staying healthy and training the right way and keep getting better every single day. You can’t plateau.”
Kistler, for his part, believes that this Princeton crew could plateau with a run to the NCAA championship game on Memorial Day.
“We talk about it everyday, we can’t waste days,” said Kistler. “We are in the fight to be the best team possible come Memorial Day. We only have so many days left. For me as a senior, I am just fighting for life to get one more day with these guys. I have full faith in this group. This group’s commitment and buy-in is unmatched.
It is something I haven’t felt in my four years around any team.”