October 20, 2004: Sports
Everywhere man
McCareins ’06 sparks a win in football’s Ivy opener
Building excitement
New coach has high hopes for men’s hockey
Sports Scores — Updated weekly
Jay McCareins ’06, shown celebrating his touchdown at San Diego, blocked two kicks against Columbia. (Photo by Beverly Schaefer) |
Everywhere
man
McCareins ’06 sparks a win in football’s Ivy opener
When defensive back Jay McCareins ’06 started practicing at wide receiver last spring, he was eager to prove himself and earn a chance to play a significant role in the offense. In the third game of this season, he did more than that, making an impact on every aspect of the game in the Tigers’ 27—26 overtime win at Columbia.
McCareins’ 30-yard return of the opening kickoff was the beginning of a remarkable day. He helped the Princeton pass defense hold Columbia to fewer than 100 yards through the air, made three athletic catches for 43 yards in a key fourth-quarter scoring drive, and blocked two kicks, including a point-after attempt in overtime that allowed the Tigers to respond with a touchdown and extra point for the win.
“He’s a big-time playmaker,” says coach Roger Hughes. “We look like pretty smart coaches by using him in all those places.”
McCareins, the brother of New York Jets receiver Justin McCareins, has some of the best hands on the team, according to Hughes, and Princeton is looking for help at wide receiver. Clinton Wu ’05 started the season as the Tigers’ go-to man, but after a stellar opening against Lafayette, he was sidelined indefinitely with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. “Unfortunately, Clint got hurt, but that also meant that somebody else had to step up,” McCareins says. “I’m more than happy to.”
While McCareins played brilliantly, the Columbia game was not Princeton’s prettiest win of the season. After leading for most of the game, the Tigers survived a back-and-forth fourth quarter that included four scoring drives. Quarterback Matt Verbit ’05 recovered from a mediocre start and led Princeton 64 yards in the last two and a half minutes, setting up Derek Javarone ’06’s game-tying 21-yard field goal with five seconds remaining. “I told our team all along that no other team is better prepared for the last few minutes of the game,” says Hughes, who stressed fourth-quarter preparation in preseason practice.
In overtime, the Lions scored quickly, covering 25 yards on three running plays, but McCareins’ block on the extra point gave Princeton a psychological edge. One score, and a successful kick, would seal the game. The Tigers struggled early in their overtime possession before Verbit broke toward the right sideline on fourth down and scrambled to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Jon Veach ’05 squirted across the goal line to tie the score, and Javarone converted the decisive extra point.
A week earlier, Princeton had picked up a similar, though less dramatic, win at the University of San Diego, relying on two defensive touchdowns in a 13-second span to provide the difference in a 24—17 contest. Early in the second quarter, safety Brandon Mueller ’05 sacked San Diego quarterback Todd Mortensen and jarred the ball loose. Defensive end James Williams ’06 returned the fumble 12 yards to the end zone. On the first play of the Toreros’ next possession, McCareins intercepted a Mortensen pass and sprinted 36 yards for another touchdown.
When the Toreros narrowed the gap to 21—14 before halftime, the Tigers’ offense did little to extend the lead. But the defense held, with strong performances from linebackers Zak Keasey ’05 and Justin Stull ’06.
At 3—0, Princeton already has more wins than it did last season.
But are the Tigers a title contender in the Ivy League? McCareins says
yes. “There’s so much parity in the league, and it comes down
to four or five plays every game,” he says. “I think we have
more than enough guys who want to make the plays.” 
By B.T.
(Photo by Beverly Schaefer) |
Princeton
football made history with its first road trip to the West Coast Sept.
25, and football alumni and supporters followed. Fans on hand for the
tailgate lunch before the Tigers’ game against the University of
San Diego included, from left, David Patterson ’96, Justin Ferayorni
’96, Darrell Oliveira ’96, Clint Murray ’96, Ryan Moore
’96, Griff King ’98, E.P. Hill ’96, Carter Westfall
’96, Keith Elias ’94, Brad Pawlowski ’96, Hans Schroeder
’96, Marc Washington ’97, Kevin Duffy ’97, Rob Dykes
’93, an unidentified fan, and Sam Young ’96.
Guy Gadowsky built a winning program in five years at Alaska Fairbanks. (Photo by Beverly Schaefer) |
Building
excitement
New coach has high hopes for men’s hockey
As a teenager in the early 1980s, Guy Gadowsky intently followed his hometown Edmonton Oilers as they built one of professional hockey’s greatest dynasties. With dynamic young stars such as Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Jari Kurri, the team captured the city’s imagination and went on to win the Stanley Cup five times in seven years. “It was so exciting because the city got so involved,” Gadowsky says. “You couldn’t help but be swept up in it.”
As Princeton’s new men’s hockey coach, Gadowsky would love to duplicate some small amount of that energy at Baker Rink, where the Tigers have won just four times in the last two seasons combined. But his first responsibility is to restore a positive atmosphere within the program, a goal that goes beyond wins and losses. “Our success this year is going to be determined by the standards we set in work ethic and commitment,” he says.
Gadowsky, 37, was named head coach in May, partly because of his experience building a college hockey program for five seasons at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Nanooks went from six wins in his first year to 22 wins in 2001—02, Gadowsky’s third season, earning a No. 11 national ranking and an appearance in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s “Super Six” playoffs. Last year, Alaska Fairbanks finished 16—19—1, including wins against Michigan and Michigan State.
A former professional hockey player and Canadian national-team member, Gadowsky says he knew by the time he was 26 that he wanted to coach a Division I program at an academically selective school. He played college hockey at Colorado College and cut his coaching teeth in the minor leagues with the West Coast Hockey League’s Fresno Falcons. Constantly recruiting pros from other leagues proved to be ideal training for an aspiring college coach.
At Princeton, Gadowsky’s recruiting pitch is simple: “You can get the best education in the world and still have a shot to achieve your athletic goals.” More than 30 former East Coast Athletic Conference stars have played in the NHL in the last two seasons, including Jeff Halpern ’99 of the Washington Capitals and University of Vermont alumnus Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2003—04.
This year, Princeton returns starting goalie Eric Leroux ’06 and
four of the team’s top scorers from last season: Patrick Neundorfer
’06, Dustin Sproat ’06, Grant Goeckner-Zoeller ’07,
and Mike Patton ’05. After finishing last in the league in scoring,
the Tigers will look to add some firepower for their season opener against
St. Cloud State Oct. 29. Gadowsky favors a fast, aggressive offensive
style, backed by tough and disciplined defense. “It’s exciting
hockey,” he says, “and it’s winning hockey.”
By B.T.
MEN’S WATER POLO improved to 10—0 with wins over George Washington and Iona before losing to St. Francis (N.Y.) in the semifinals of the East Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Sept. 26. The Tigers rank ninth in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s national poll.
After a scoreless first half, WOMEN’S SOCCER netted three goals in the second period against Yale to win its Ivy League opener 3—0 on Sept. 24. With another shutout at Hartford Sept. 26, Princeton won its sixth game of the year. The Tigers’ only loss was a 1—0 setback at Wake Forest on Sept. 19.
Ryan Rich ’05 scored one goal and assisted on another as MEN’S SOCCER tied 18th-ranked South Carolina Sept. 19. Princeton improved to 4—2—1 on Sept. 26 when Darren Spicer ’06 tallied three goals in a 4—1 win against Wofford.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL compiled an 8—3 record in its pre-Ivy League games. The Tigers beat Seton Hall 15—11 in the final stanza of a five-game match at the Rider University Invitational Sept. 25. Jenny McReynolds ’07 had a career-high 43 digs.
FIELD HOCKEY beat Columbia 3—1 Sept. 24, rebounding from a three-game losing streak and improving to 2—1 in the Ivy League.
Avery Kiser ’05 shot rounds of 74 and 75 at Springdale Golf Club to lead WOMEN’S GOLF to a 21-stroke win over second-place Yale at the Princeton Invitational Sept. 25—26. Senior Meg Nakamura’s 73 on Saturday was the low round of the tournament.
Amateur powerlifter STEPHEN LAMB ’44
set an age-group world record in August, dead-lifting 3081/2 pounds in
Waimanalo, Hawaii. Lamb, who competes in the 181-pound weight class, beat
the old record for 80- to 84-year-olds by five pounds. His weekly exercise
routine includes weightlifting on three days, aerobic workouts on three
more, and daily work at his 10-acre fruit farm on Maui, harvesting papayas,
bananas, and passion fruit. In training, Lamb already has topped his deadlift
mark, and he’s aiming for another record next year. “You don’t
have to come apart at the seams when you get old, if you eat right and
exercise,” he says. “It’s staying well, not getting
well, that’s important.”
By B.T.
