LOCKED IN: Princeton University men’s lacrosse goalie Ryan Croddick focused in on a foe in a game this season. Last Saturday, senior Croddick made 20 saves to help top-seeded Princeton defeat Duke 14-7 in the NCAA semis at Charlottesville, Va. The 20 saves matched a Princeton NCAA tournament record. On Monday, Croddick made 13 saves to help the Tigers defeat second-seeded Notre Dame 16-9 in the NCAA Championship game as they ended the season with a 17-2 record. It marked the program’s seventh national crown and first since 2001 team. Croddick was later named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

Ryan Croddick got off to a good start in goal for the Princeton University men’s lacrosse team as it played Duke in the NCAA semis last Saturday at Charlottesville, Va.

Some 1:30 into the contest, senior star Croddick turned aside a low blast from Duke’s Brady Scioletti.

That stop turned out to be a harbinger of things to come on the day as All-American Croddick made 20 saves to help Princeton defeat Duke 14-7. The 20 saves matched a Princeton NCAA tournament record.

“I thought from the first shot you can kind of tell how the game is going to go from there, it’s going to come easy or be hard like it was last week,” said Croddick, a 6’3, 185-pound native of Rumson, who starred as a postgraduate for the Hun School boys’ lax team. “After that first shot I was kind of feeling it. The grass was bouncing pretty nice.”

Later in the game, Croddick came out of the net in the third quarter to make a pivotal play, stealing a pass and starting a fast break that led to a Tiger goal.

“I was yelling at the guys this is the way they could get back, climb back into this game,” said Croddick. “I thought I could just make a play there, and I love coming out of the cage. These guys know from practice. I think I got a jump on it, and, yeah, it was great.”

It turned out to be a great championship weekend for Croddick as he made 13 saves on Monday to help the Tigers defeat second-seeded Notre Dame 16-9 in the NCAA Championship game as they ended the season with a 17-2 record. It marked the program’s seventh national crown and first since 2001. Croddick was later named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Princeton junior attacker Nate Kabiri wasn’t surprised to see Croddick shine under the glare of the Final Four.

“Every day in practice he gives me a lot of trouble,” said Kabiri. “But he makes me better. So I’m glad to have him as my goalie.”

Duke midfielder Benn Johnston acknowledged that Croddick gave the Blue Devils a lot of trouble,.

“He’s a terrific goalie,” said Johnston. “I think a couple of the shots early in the first quarter if we dropped those, he wouldn’t have been as hot throughout the game. Yeah we hit a couple pipes. A couple of them rung off his head and hit a pipe. It’s tough.”

In the final, Croddick showed his mental toughness as he gave up three early goals against Notre Dame and then stifled the Fighting Irish when the Tigers employed a zone defense in front of him.

“I think we prepared all year to go into the zone,” said Croddick, who helped Princeton hold Notre Dame scoreless for the last 25:11 of the first half. “We haven’t had to use it much lately, but we had to trust in our guys. Zone sort of slows them down a bit, and they’re a super athletic team. The game started to move a little slower, and it was very helpful for us.

In reflecting on Croddick’s performance, senior attacker Chad Palumbo asserted that the Tigers have total trust in their goalie.

“Ryan is my best friend,” said Palumbo. “I know he’s always in a good headspace going into the games, and he’s holding it down down there for us. When Ryan is seeing the ball, this team feels unstoppable. I think he’s the energy and the pulse of our entire defense.”

Princeton head coach Matt Madalon, a former Division III All-America goalie at Roanoke College, has a deep appreciation for Croddick’s excellence.

“I’ll speak about him forever; just size, twitchiness, eye-hand, ball control,” said Madalon. “He’s one of the best I’ve been around. The pro games is hard to crack into. There aren’t that many pro teams. There are a lot of great goalies. But he should be up there. He’s in those ranks.”

Croddick, for his part, is proud to join the ranks of Princeton’s national champions.

“I think you saw all the fans out there, just years and years of Princeton, the long orange line,” said Croddick. “We can always count on those guys for anything. And it’s super awesome to bring back a trophy to such a storied program.”

And the Tigers knew they could count on Croddick to bring his best with a trophy on the line.