March 12, 2012
Game Notes
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VILLANOVA, Pa. - No. 10 Villanova (4-1) hosts No. 16 Princeton (2-2) for their second straight matchup against an Ivy League opponent on Tuesday evening in Villanova Stadium. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
Tuesday marks just their fifth overall meeting between the two schools, with the all-time series favoring the Tigers, 3-1. Villanova claimed the 2011 outing on March 15th, 2011 in a 10-9 victory at the Class of 1952 Stadium. Before reigniting the competition between the two foes last year, Villanova and Princeton last met on March 29th, 1989 with Princeton taking home a 14-6 victory on VU's home turf.
Villanova This Season: The Wildcats enter Tuesday's contest with a 4-1 record after defeating Penn 8-7 on Saturday afternoon. Junior midfielder Max Hart (Bethesda, Md.) netted the game-tying and game-winning scores with just 1:09 and one second remaining in regulation to seal the victory. The Wildcats outscored Penn 6-3 in the second half and 4-1 in the final stanza for the come from behind win.
As of the latest USILA Coaches and Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Polls released on Monday, March 12th, Villanova has scheduled eight ranked opponents on their calendar this season: No. 6 Syracuse, No. 7 Maryland, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 11 Lehigh, No. 14 Penn State, No. 16 Princeton, No. 18 Georgetown and No. 20 Delaware.
`Nova Offense: The Villanova junior and senior classes have combined to produce 88% of offensive production through three games. The Wildcats average 12.20 goals per game compared to just 9.60 from the competition, including a .645 shot on goal percentage over their competitors .630.
Junior Will Casertano (Millbrook, N.Y.) leads the Villanova attack with 19 points via eight goals and 11 assists while seniors Kevin Cunningham (Garden City, N.Y.), C.J. Small (San Diego, Calif.) and junior Jack Rice (Baltimore, Md.) follow closely behind with 15 and 14 points apiece. Rice leads the team with 14 goals after posting a career-high six scores against Bucknell.
'Nova Defense: Senior Dan Gutierrez (Chevy Chase, Md.) has been the mainstay in net for the Wildcats through five games. For the season, Gutierrez posts a 9.58 goals against average and a .529 save percentage.
The starting trio at close defense, seniors Chris Creighton (West Chester, Pa.), Ryan McDonagh (Huntington, N.Y.) and sophomore Chris Conroy (Chatham, N.J.) have combined for 27 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers while sophomore LSM John LoCascio (Farifield, N.J.) has grabbed 27 ground balls and caused eight turnovers for the year.
A Look at Princeton: Princeton brings a 2-2 record into Tuesday's showdown against the Wildcats. The Tigers are coming off a narrow 9-8 loss to No. 8 North Carolina at the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic in Baltimore, Md. on Saturday. The Tigers trailed by two goals four times and ended up tying it twice before Carolina took the lead for good with 6:09 to play. Princeton had five shots the rest of the way but couldn't tie it. The Tigers posted wins over Hofstra and Manhattan before dropping two straight to Johns Hopkins and UNC.
Tiger Offense: Princeton averages 10.25 goals per game on offense and surrenders 10.25 goals per game defensively. Sophomore Tom Schreiber leads the team with 18 points (8g, 10a) while Tucker Shanley, Alex Capretta and Mike Grossman follow closely behind with eight points on the year, respectively.
Tiger Defense: Defensively, senior goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito is regarded as one of the best in the nation and posts a 8.33 goals against average and a .432 save percentage, despite making only two saves in the defeat against UNC. His close defensemen, Chad Wiedmaier, Rob Castelo and Johathan Meyers have combined for 30 ground balls.
The Last Meeting (3/15/11): The Wildcats scored seven unanswered goals to bridge the second and third quarters as No. 15 Villanova toppled No. 11 Princeton 10-9 in the Class of 1952 Stadium. Senior Brian Karalunas had a career-high eight caused turnovers and eight ground balls while sophomore Jack Rice led VU with four goals. The victory marks Villanova's third win over top-20 opponents and their fifth straight. It was the first Wildcat victory in the all-time series between the two schools; the teams last met 22 years ago in 1989.
