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# 12 Brown Travels To #9 Princeton For Key Ivy League Match-up
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Providence, R.I. – The high-scoring 12th-ranked Brown men's lacrosse team will take on #9 Princeton in a pivotal Ivy League matchup on Sunday morning, March 29, at Class of 1952 Field in Princeton, NJ. The Tigers are tied for the top spot in the Ivy League standings with a 2-0 Ivy mark, while Brown, 7-1 overall, is 1-0 in Ivy play. Sunday's game is televised nationally on ESPNU with Mike Corey and Ryan Boyle calling all the action starting at 11 am.
The Bears: #12 Brown (7-1, 1-0 Ivy) squandered a nine goal first half lead against Marist Tuesday evening, but Kylor Bellistri's '16 overtime goal lifted the Bears to a 16-15 win over the Red Foxes. Dylan Molloy '17 scored six first half goals and finished with eight goals and an assist.
The Tigers: Princeton (6-1, 2-0 Ivy) earned an 11-10 win over #9 Yale last Saturday to vault into first place in the Ivy League Standings. Kip Orban paced the Tigers with four goals against the Elis.
The Brown-Princeton Series Record: Brown and Princeton have met 53 times, dating back to 1964, with the Tigers holding a 31-22 advantage. Last year, goalie Jack Kelly '16 made 16 saves and Kylor Bellistri '16 provided the offense with three goals to lead Brown to an 11-10 win over Princeton, beating the Tigers for the first time since 2008. In 2013, the Tigers earned a 15-8 decision over the Bears in Princeton, NJ.
Did you Know?: Brown is off to its best start since 2009 when the team opened 9-1…12th-ranked Brown is ranked number one in the latest New England Division I Lacrosse poll…Dylan Molloy '17 led the Brown team with 29 goals last year, and already has 41 goals in 2015…Bears lead all NCAA Division I teams in scoring with 16.9 goals per game. Brown scored 142 goals in 14 games last year and has scored 135 goals through eight games in 2015…Brown is competing in its 65th season of intercollegiate lacrosse.
Molloy – Named To Tewaarton Award Watch List: Sophomore attackman Dylan Molloy (Setauket, NY) leads the nation in both goals (5.1 gpg) and points (7.1 ppg), and was recently named to the Tewaarton Watch List as a candidate for the nation's top player. He exploded for eight goals in Brown's overtime win over Marist, equaling his career single game high. Molloy had two goals and three assists in Brown's win over Manhattan. He scored three goals in Brown's 14-9 win over #10 Harvard. Molloy was named the USILA, NCAA and Ivy League Player of the Week after matching the Brown school record for points in a game (13) by scoring a career high eight goals and dishing out five assists in the Bears' 22-12 win over Michigan. He tied the Brown record of 13 points, held by USILA Player of the Year Darren Lowe '92 against Boston College in 1991, and All-American Oliver Marti '93 vs. New Hampshire in 1993. He also registered six goals in 30 minutes vs. Hartford. Molloy scored a then career-high seven goals and handed out two assists in the Bears' win over UMass. Molloy picked up where he left off a year ago, scoring five goals in Brown's season-opening win over Quinnipiac. Last year, the honorable mention All-Ivy selection and four-time Ivy Rookie of the Week led the Bears and ranked sixth in the Ivy League with 29 goals, while adding 10 assists and 37 ground balls.
Kelly – 16th Nationally In Save Percentage: Junior goalie Jack Kelly (West Islip, NY), a tri-captain for the Bears, leads the Ivy League and ranks 16th nationally in save percentage (.556), while his goals against average (9.45) is 26th nationally. He played just a half against Manhattan and made six saves, while allowing two goals. Kelly registered nine saves vs. Harvard, including a point blank fourth quarter save with Brown down two men. He had 14 saves vs. Michigan and made eight saves, while allowing just one goal in 30-minutes of play vs. Hartford. He was superb in Brown's season debut, making his 15 saves in just over three quarters of play, exiting early in the fourth quarter. Last year, Kelly led the Ivy League and ranked ninth in the nation in saves per game (11.21), and ranked 15th nationally in save percentage (.547).
Kemp Named USILA National Defensive Player of the Week/Ivy League Co-Player of the Week: Sophomore long stick middy Larken Kemp (Greenwich, CT) was named the USILA National Defensive Player of the Week and the Ivy League's Co-Player of the Week on March 16th after turning in a dominating defensive performance against Harvard, wreaking havoc and disrupting the Crimson attack with eight caused turnovers, four ground balls and a fourth-quarter goal. Kemp, who scored his fifth goal of the season against Marist, leads the nation with 2.86 caused turnovers per game and is 24th nationally in ground balls (5.29 per game). Kemp had five ground balls and four caused turnovers vs. Michigan, and picked up five ground balls vs. Manhattan. He picked up eight ground balls and caused two turnovers vs. UMass, and played a key role in Brown's fast-paced attack with two goals against Quinnipiac.
Gural 9th Nationally In Face-offs: Junior face-off specialist Will Gural (Haverford, PA) captured 21-of-34 face-offs vs. Marist and ranks 9th in the nation in face-off percentage at .633. He leads the Bears and ranks 22nd nationally with 5.38 ground balls per game. Gural won 7-of-9 face-offs vs. Manhattan, and captured 16-of-25 face-offs vs. Harvard, including 8-of-9 in the fourth quarter. Gural also posted a big game against Bucknell, winning 15-of-23 face-offs. He also had a strong game vs. Michigan, winning 21-of-34 face-offs against the Wolverines. Gural earned the starting nod in the face-off x to open the season and dominated Quinnipiac by winning 15-of-19 face-offs. He came back with a strong performance against UMass, winning 19-of-30 face-offs.
Blynn 3rd Leading Scorer: Bears' junior attackman Henry Blynn (Villanova, PA), Brown's third leading scorer with 23 points (17 goals, 6 assists) registered a season high four goals in the Bears' 22-9 win over Manhattan. He returned to the lineup after a year's absence due to injury and scored just 17 seconds into Brown's season opening win over Quinnipiac. Blynn has now scored four goals three times this season – in wins over Michigan, UMass and Manhattan - and tossed in two goals against Bucknell. He added a goal and three assists vs. Hartford. Blynn led the Brown team in scoring as a freshman in 2013 with 35 points (27 goals, 8 assists), and scored five goals in back-to-back games against High Point and North Carolina.
Bellistri On The Attack: Junior Kylor Bellistri (Potomac, MD), the Bears' second leading scorer with 24 points (20 goals, 4 assists), netted an overtime goal to lift Brown to a 16-15 win over Marist. His 2.50 goals per game rank 27th nationally. Bellistri scored four goals in Brown wins over Manhattan and Michigan. He tossed in three goals vs. Bucknell, and stepped up against Harvard with two goals. He scored three goals and handed out two assists vs. UMass after netting two goals in Brown's season opening win over Quinnipiac. Bellistri is equally adept at scoring from the outside or in tight, and ranked third on the 2014 Brown team with 31 points (20 goals and 11 assists).
Caputo Tops Midfield Scorers: Junior middy Brendan Caputo (Westbury, NY) is the Bears top scorer from the midfield with 20 points (12 goals, 8 assists). Caputo netted two goals in the Bears win over Manhattan. He scored a key man-down goal against Harvard midway through the fourth quarter and finished with two goals against the Crimson. He had 15 goals and 12 assists a year ago to rank fourth on the Brown team.
Defensive Unit: Brown's defense returns two starters from a year ago. Sophomore defenseman Alec Tulett (Toronto, Canada) emerged as a starter a year ago and is equally effective as a close defenseman or long-stick midfielder. Tulett, who had three caused turnovers vs. Bucknell and four vs. Manhattan, currently ranks 33rd nationally with 1.38 caused turnovers per game. He picked up six ground balls vs. Marist and ranks third on the Brown team in ground balls (5.25 per game), 25th nationally. Senior tri-captain Will Swindell (Greenwich, CT) had four ground balls and two caused turnovers vs. Manhattan. He also ranks 33rd nationally with 1.38 caused turnovers per game. Swindell started seven games last season and plays a key role in Brown's clearing game and communicating the slides… Senior Stephen Loudon (Babylon, NY), who also plays football at Brown, has also emerged as a starter at close defense for the Bears.
Piroli Back In The Lineup: Senior middy Nick Piroli (Black River, NY) missed all of last season due to injury and responded with two goals and two assists for the Bears in their season opener Quinnipiac. Pirolo had two goals and two assists in the Bears' win over Marist. He had three assists vs. Manhattan, and played a key role in Brown's win over Harvard with two assists. He also had a goal and an assist vs. UMass. Piroli was one of the top first year players in the nation as a freshman with 23 goals and a .442 shooting percentage that ranked 18th nationally. Piroli, who came into the season with 39 career goals for the Bears, will see action both on attack and in the midfield.
Brown's Probable Starters
Attack 4 Dylan Molloy, So.
Attack 6 Henry Blynn, Jr.
Attack 8 Kylor Bellistri, Jr.
Midfield 10 Nick Piroli, Sr.
Midfield 17 Tim Jacob, Sr.
Midfield 41 Brendan Caputo, Jr.
Defense 25 Alec Tulett, So.
Defense 44 Will Swindell, Sr.
Defense 50 Steven Loudon, Sr.
Goalie 91 Jack Kelly, Jr.
F/O 36 Will Gural, Jr.
DM 23 Nick Weeden, Sr.
LSM 42 Larken Kemp, So.
Head Coach Lars Tiffany: Lars Tiffany '90, a two-time Brown lacrosse captain, returned to his alma mater as head men's lacrosse coach in the summer of 2006, and has returned the program to national prominence with Ivy League titles in 2008 and 2010, and an NCAA Championship berth in 2009. Tiffany was named the New England Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2009 while leading his team to the number one ranking in New England each year. Tiffany occupies the Rothman Head Coaching Chair for Men's Lacrosse, an endowed position.
Watch Live: Video of all home contests and all Ivy League games, home and away, will be broadcast live on BrownBears.TV as part of the Ivy League Digital Network. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing yearly, monthly, weekly or daily packages.
Next Game: The Bears return to Stevenson Field next Saturday, April 4, hosting Ivy League rival Penn. Face-off is scheduled for 3 pm.
Purchase Brown Tickets: Tickets for all Brown men's lacrosse home games can be purchased online at brownbears.com, calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or walking up to the Box Office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
