Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/17/18
From Press Release
The 19th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men’s lacrosse team used a standout 20-save performance from junior goalie Reed Junkin and five goals from classmate Tyler Dunn to defeat Princeton, 14-7, today at Class of 1952 Stadium.
Penn improved to 4-3 overall with the victory, while Princeton fell to 3-3. The game was the Ivy League opener for both squads. This also was the Quakers’ second straight win at Princeton, after they lost 13 in a row from 1990 to 2014.
This was Dunn’s second-straight game with five goals. Simon Mathias scored three times, extending his point-scoring streak to 35 games (every game of his career). Kevin McGeary (Malvern Prep) scored twice, while JJ McBride had a goal and two assists. At the other end, Junkin set a career high with his 20 stops to backstop a stellar defensive effort overall by the Quakers.
Princeton opened the scoring just 49 seconds into the game, before Penn got unassisted tallies from Dunn and Mathias just 1:03 apart. Less than a minute after Mathias’ tally, the Tigers knotted it up on a rocket by Connor McCarthy and that’s how the first quarter ended.
Princeton was called for a pair of penalties early in the second quarter, and the Quakers took advantage in a 6-on-4 situation as Mike Lamon found Adam Goldner (Malvern Prep) alone in the middle and the sophomore essentially swept it past Tigers goalie Tyler Blaisdell for a 3-2 lead. Mathias added another tally to make it 4-2 shortly after that. McGeary added an unassisted goal later in the period
Both teams scored three times in the third quarter, the Tigers getting all three of their goals in man-up situations as the Quakers lost their composure for a few minutes. Dunn scored to open and close the period, though, and Joe Licciardi also netted a rebound in traffic after a McBride shot in front was saved.
It was in the fourth quarter where Penn pulled away. The Quakers scored the first five goals of the period, with Dunn scoring twice and McGeary, Mathias and Reilly Hupfeldt (Haverford School) getting one each. Princeton finally scored, ending a defensive streak of 47 minutes 44 seconds where the Red and Blue did not allow a goal in an even situation. McBride closed out Penn’s scoring with 1:36 left, followed closely by Princeton’s Riley Thompson who ended the day’s scoring.
Special mention must be given to sophomore defenseman Mark Evanchick, who was assigned to Princeton’s Michael Sowers (Upper Dublin) who entered the game leading the nation in assists per game and third in points per game. Sowers finished the day with three assists, two of them coming in man-up situations and the third on the Tigers’ final goal, long after the game had been decided. Also, Penn’s defenseman Connor Keating (Haverford School) had four groundballs.