Five goals by freshman Sean Hartofilis helped the third-ranked Princeton men's lacrosse team overcome a late three-goal deficit to edge the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers, 12-11, in the NCAA semifinal game. The Tigers advance to the NCAA championship game and face this year's top-ranked Syracuse, who defeated Johns Hopkins 14-12 in the other semifinal match up.
Less than a minute and a half into the final quarter, Tiger Josh Sims scored his third goal of the game to bring the game to within one. The Cavaliers built two-goal leads in the quarter twice, but Brendan Tierney and Hartofilis were finally able to bring the game to an 11-11 tie with 5:01 remaining.
With 2:05 left, Josh White found Tierney for what would be the game-winning goal. The Princeton defense dug down for the final minutes and a final attempt by Virginia with five seconds on the clock missed high.
After battling to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Cavaliers took control in the second for a 7-5 lead at the end of two quarters. Princeton goalie Trevor Tierney kept the game close with eight first-half saves.
Virginia maintained its momentum well into the third period and had a 9-6 advantage with just under three minutes remaining when Hartofilis turned the game around with a goal in the closing minutes to bring the game to within two.
Connor Gill, Ian Shure, Drew McKnight, and David Bruce led the Cavaliers with two goals each. Gill also contributed five assists and McKnight two on the day. Goalkeeper Derek Kenney made five stops.
Sims tallied three goals and Matt Streibel pitched in four assists. Tierney added six saves in the second half for a total of 14. The win avenged a 15-8 Princeton loss to Virginia earlier in the year.
For the fourth time in five years, the Tigers are headed to the championship game. Today Princeton will face the Syracuse squad that defeated the Tigers, 16-4, earlier this season. The eight-goal deficit was the worst loss ever for head coach Bill Tierney as coach at Princeton.
The Tigers have won five national titles, while the Orangemen own six.
