A Wild NIght On Sherrerd Field

As TigerBlog stood on Sherrerd Field about 45 minutes before the start of a Princeton men's lacrosse game and talked to Bill Tierney, it dawned on him that this was hardly the first time he'd done that.

In fact, TB has been at every single game Tierney has coached on that field in his career. This time, though, it was different. Tierney was back as the head coach at Denver, playing against Princeton for the first time.

The two talked about all of the things they'd always talked about in the past before a game. How it might go. What he was thinking. All of the usual things. Then TB stopped and said "This is weird," something that made Tierney smile.

A few hours later, TB stood in the Jadwin Gym lobby at the postgame reception for the Pioneers. Again, he had done this many times before, dissecting the recently played game with Tierney.

The main storyline for the game last night was Tierney's return. It was that way from the time the game was scheduled last fall, and why wouldn't it be?

Tierney, after all, built Princeton men's lacrosse into a dynasty, winning 238 games, six NCAA championships and 14 Ivy League championships. And then, in 2009, he left to go Denver, and again, he built a powerhouse where none had been before. In his nine years in Denver he has been to nine NCAA tournaments and five Final Fours, and in 2015 he won his seventh NCAA title.

There is no doubt that Tierney is the greatest lacrosse coach of all time. And here he was, back in Princeton, to take on his old team.

It writes itself.

Until it doesn't.

In between the time TB talked to Tierney on the field and then talked to him in Jadwin Gym, the story shifted from the return of the coach to a showcase of the current Tiger men's lacrosse team.

Playing with a four-game losing streak and in front of a national TV audience, Princeton showed just how good a team it could be, holding off ninth-ranked Denver 14-13 to spoil Tierney's return. It immediately became the best game ever played on Sherrerd Field.

None of the current Princeton players ever played for Tierney, as the roster has turned over several times since he left. But they all know who he is and what he has meant for the program. They play on a field that has six NCAA championship banners hanging on it, and they know who the coach was when those championships were won.

You know what made the game even more special for TB to watch? Princeton won this game because it did what Bill Tierney's Princeton teams always did.

They played hard. They made the tough plays that needed to be made. And they won a one-goal game. Tierney's legend at Princeton was made just that way. Play hard. Play tough. Win close games against the top teams.

Princeton's win was a total team effort. Basically everyone who stepped on the field contributed.

Emmet Cordrey went from having 10 goals and three assists his first three years to have a huge senior year, and he put up three goals and an assist against the Pioneers, giving him 17 goals and 12 assists in seven games. Chris Brown was also great, with three goals and an assist of his own.

There were others. Andrew Song. Phillip Robertson. Erik Peters. Arman Medghalchi. Luc Anderson.

But for TB, there were three who stood out the most.

There was George Baughan, the sophomore defenseman who caused five turnovers. Jon Hess, one of the greatest players of the Tierney years, tweeted that Baughan is a first-team All-America and asked for someone to convince him otherwise.

There are some players who fly under the radar for whatever reason, and Baughan is one of them. Hess is right about Baughan. He is first-team All-America good. He is completely dominant, with a non-stop motor, start to finish, no matter what the score.

Then there was Jake Stevens, a freshman who played mostly on the face-off wings, with some shortstick defensive midfield as well. Stevens is a Canadian from Culver Military Academy, which is not the only reason he makes you think of Zach Currier.

Stevens is like Currier 2.0, a relentless force on ground balls and a disruption to the other team at every turn. His stat line against Denver was something right out of Currier's world - one goal, three caused turnover and nine ground balls. Princeton does not win this game without Stevens.

Lastly, there was Michael Sowers. There is no player in college lacrosse that TigerBlog would take over Sowers, none. TB doesn't care who it is.

Sowers is a mesmerizing player. The only player TB has ever seen whom he would compare to Sowers is Mikey Powell of Syracuse, a 2004 grad whom TB has always said is the best college player he's seen.

Sowers had three goals and three assists against Denver as he showed all the skills he possesses. He now is tied with the great Jesse Hubbard for fourth all-time at Princeton with 211 career points, and he caught Hubbard in just 36 career games, as opposed to the 56 that Hubbard played. Next up is Hess, with 215, and then it'll be just Ryan Boyle (232) and Kevin Lowe (247).

No player in Division I lacrosse in the last 38 years has averaged more points per game than Sowers has. He's extraordinary.

Boyle, by the way, was the color commentator on ESPNU last night. At one point he said of Sowers "there's beating your defender, and then there's leaving him on the other side of the cage."

Denver didn't go quietly. The Pioneers scored twice in the final 1:04 and then had three chances at the end to tie it but couldn't. Princeton had itself a huge win.

As TB said yesterday, it was the first time he would ever root against Bill Tierney, and presumably, the last.

But there were two coaches in this game.

After the on-field celebrations had ended and the facility had emptied, TigerBlog was in the press box writing his story when Princeton head coach Matt Madalon walked across the field. TB called out to him and gave a thumbs up when Madalon turned and looked at him.

Madalon's first move when he became head coach was to call Tierney. He appreciates the importance of what Tierney still means to Princeton lacrosse, and he doens't shy away from that. Hey, he agreed to play Tierney in between Ivy games against Yale and Brown, because he understood what an opportunity this was.

In the end, his team made the most of it, and the young coach had himself a signature win.

It was a great game, and a great night for lacrosse at Princeton.

Bill Tierney, back in a place that has meant so much to him, playing against his former team.

And that team playing the way so many of his had in all those years here.

Nobody hates losing more than Bill Tierney. Even he had to appreciate what had happened on this night.