SPECIALTY PROTECTION
WOMEN'S PROTECTIVE
Each team traded shots and saves for the opening eight minutes, until Maryland sophomore Brendan Healy stung the top corner off a lefty high to high rip. Fellow sophomore and ACC player of the year Joe Walters then followed up with one of his own to put Maryland up 2-0. Walters dodged solo from behind, coming around the goal lefty with one of his own to put Maryland up 2-0. Walters dodged solo from behind, coming around the goal lefty, then inside rolled for the doorstep put in.
Princeton got on the board just a bit over two minutes later, as freshman Whitney Hayes performed a mirror image of Walters’ goal from behind. Hayes managed to get his D man caught up in a pick at X and came around the goal untouched for the score. 2-1 Maryland. Following the ensuing faceoff, both teams traded errant shots for the remainder of the period, as they each used a very patient and deliberate offense. There was the occasional dodge, however it was primarily just a lot of passing and waiting for the right opportunity.
Brendan Healy again got the scoring started in the second, as he used a right to left split dodge to get some separation and then let loose another high to high cannon. 3-1 Terps. Jim O’Brien then got the Tigers within one off another dodge from out top. O’Brien blew through some picks carrying the ball righty and came around the goal firing a righty bouncer, five holing Terp goalie Tim McGinnis.
Ryan Boyle got his first assist minutes later, as he caught the attention of the aggressive Maryland D and fired a pass to Jason Donegar just as the slide got to him. Donegar was sneaking from X and caught the pass just as he came around the right pipe, tying the game up at 3. Donegar then put the Tigers up by one on a push call man up, as he caught the ball a few steps from the crease and fired the lefty high to low shot in the stick side corner. 4-3 Princeton heading into the half.
Senior middie Justin Smith then got the second half started with two Terrapin goals, sandwiching another finish by Whitney Hayes, leaving the score tied up at five with just over four minutes left in the half. After some more up and down action, the Tigers took a wide shot that was chased down at the end line by attackman Ryan Boyle and Maryland goalie Tim McGinnis. The ball was given right back to Boyle, who immediately demanded that the ref blow the whistle, which he did, despite the fact that McGinnis was still headed back to the goal. After the whistle, Boyle ran untouched around the front of the goal in a footrace with McGinnis. They both got there at the same time, but McGinnis had no time to get set and Boyle put it in to go up by one. While referees can never be blamed for the final outcome of a game, this was one of the largest mistakes I’ve ever seen division one officials make, as letting the goalie get back to the cage is one of the inherent rules of the game. 6-5 Princeton.
Maryland’s other big time sophomore, Bill McGlone, then tied the game back up at 6 off an unassisted left to right split from out top. Maryland then won the ensuing faceoff and kicked the ball right down to their attack. Walters took the ball into the lower right corner and dodged hard, cutting straight toward the crease and fired the ball cross field to a waiting midfielder. He took one quick step and hit a moving J.R. Bordley down low, who dumped it in past Princeton goalie Dave Law. 7-6 Maryland to close out the third.
Maryland then started right where they left off, going up by two with ten minutes left in the fourth. Off a broken Princeton clear, caused primarily by a ridiculous Maryland ride, Brendan Healy picked the loose ball up right around the midline and pushed it ahead to Joe Walters with numbers. Walters took two steps and hit a wide open J.R. Bordley again, who cut across the crease throwing numerous stick fakes and eventually put it past Law for the 8-6 lead.
The teams went scoreless for the next eight minutes, until the last two minutes of play announcement came over the loudspeaker, when Ryan Boyle dodged from the lower right and beat his man on the inside turn for the doorstep put in. 8-7 Maryland with 1:55 left. Princeton then wins the following faceoff and calls timeout in their own offensive end. Hoping to tie it up right away, the Tigers set play ends up with a great shot and an even better McGinnis kick save. The ball is sent flying towards the midfield line with a Princeton middie locked on it and Chris Passavia chasing him down from behind. Just as the middie gets the pickup, Passavia makes a great check and the ball is sent out of bounds last touched by Princeton.
Under a minute left, all Maryland has to do is clear the ball and hold on tight. They don’t. They throw the ball away on the clear and the Tigers come back down on offense, but this time with numbers. Another shot, another McGinnis kick save, leading to another Princeton shot, that this time goes off a pipe. It gets cleared out by the Terps who get the ball to Joe Walters just outside of the restraining box. Walters comes in all alone with the goalie and one man to beat, but instead takes the shot with 35 seconds left. The shot’s deflected and Dave Law sends it up to a streaking middie with under 30 to go. They get it down to an attackman who sends the shot flying wide and out of bounds.
With 12 seconds left in Princeton’s season, Ryan Boyle takes a hard dodge around the goal, turns underneath and gets the back of the net as he hits the grass. 8-8 tie with just over ten seconds in the game. Maryland wins the final draw and give it to Justin Smith from the front left of the goal. Smith dodges hard left and turns back topside to get the final shot of the 4th off. As he turns however, he gets a step on his defenseman and the Tigers get called for a hold with only one second left on the board. Maryland wisely holds onto the ball to close out the quarter, allowing them to automatically start with the ball in the first overtime.
So there’s no faceoff and the Terps have a 30 second man up advantage to start the first overtime. The whistle is blown and the first pass is thrown low an away from midfielder Billy McGlone who barely gets a stick on it. Getting pressure in his face, McGlone underhand tosses the ball to the next middie in the man up unit who loses it between his legs and is moving too fast to get a stick on. After a scuffle for the loose ball, Maryland gets called for a loose ball push and possession is given to Princeton. The Tigers go back to their patented invert offense and immediately go to the goal with two different midfielders. Both attempts are stopped and Princeton wisely calls a timeout with a little over two minutes left in OT.
The players start back out to the field and it appears that the Tigers are putting all their eggs into Ryan Boyles basket. The attackman dodges from the lower left spot and is given nothing to work with by Chris Passavia who is playing him to almost perfection. Boyle decides to pull it back out, but as he’s backing up, he sees something on the crease. What he sees is a wide open Peter Trombino who catches the slightly low pass righty, switches it to his left hand and fires the jumping lefty bouncer home. 9-8. Princeton goes to the Final Four.
| Scoring | |
|---|---|
| Brendan Healy | (2, 1) |
| Joe Walters | (1, 1) |
| Justin Smith | (2, 0) |
| Jr Bordley | (2, 0) |
| Bill Mcglone | (1, 0) |
| Paul Gillette | (0, 1) |
| Saves | |
|---|---|
| Tim Mcginnis | 12 (0.571) |
| Current Record | |
|---|---|
| Maryland | 13-3 |
| Scoring | |
|---|---|
| Ryan Boyle | (3, 2) |
| Jason Doneger | (2, 0) |
| Whitney Hayes | (2, 0) |
| Jim O'brien | (1, 0) |
| Ryan Schoenig | (1, 0) |
| Drew Casino | (0, 1) |
| Saves | |
|---|---|
| Dave Law | 11 (0.579) |
| Current Record | |
|---|---|
| Princeton | 11-3 |
