In the second game of the weekend at the 2025 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament, it will be the battle of the Tigers as the Princeton Tigers host the unseeded Towson Tigers.
In case you missed our first preview, check it out below. And check out all of our NCAA coverage here!
This game features two of the hottest teams in America. Towson has won 10 straight games since beginning the season 1-5. They are an incredible 4-0 in Overtime games this year, and have won 18 straight CAA games. They return to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year, after losing in the JMA Wireless Dome to the Syracuse Orange last year.
Princeton lost their last game, but will be proud of their effort against a great Cornell team. But prior to that, the Tigers won eight straight of their own, meaning that these two teams have won 18 of their last 19 games.
Princeton will look to avenge a disappointing blowout loss to the Maryland Terrapins last year in College Park. They lost in the first round in 2023 to Penn State as well, but made a tremendous run to the final four in 2022.
As I wrote about this week, the faceoff numbers for Princeton are a significant reason to worry if you’re a Princeton fan.
| Team | RPI | Scoring O | Scoring D | Faceoff |
| Princeton | 3 | 13 | 27 | 57 |
| Towson | 19 | 25 | 39 | 34 |
Matchup History
The Tigers and Tigers have played three times, all in the NCAA tournament. The last time was in the 2001 Final Four, when Princeton won 12-11, two days before they won their last national championship.
Keys to the Game
Faceoffs are the most important one here, as Princeton has to find a way to improve on their current percentage. They might be able to beat Towson despite a bad day at the X, but will be very difficult to progress deep into the tournament without the ball. For Towson, exploiting a weakness and dominating possession will be massive.
Princeton – Find Mikey Weisshaar
Most college fans know that Weisshaur is Towson’s leading scorer and best player. But if you haven’t watched them recently, you may have missed that he is now playing attack. This gives Towson a somewhat unusual offensive alignment, because Weisshaar and second-leading scorer Ronan Fitzpatrick are both lefties.
But what this does do is allow the Towson staff to move Weisshaar around, and he occupies a few different spots in the offence. The first is on the wing, where his straight line speed allows him to be a real nightmare.
Princeton’s Colin Mulshine just had to guard CJ Kirst, one of the most physical dodgers out there. Weisshaar is a completely different beast, as one of the fastest players in the country.
Here he starts at X, works up to the win, then cuts back underneath for the goal, all without really being touched.
But his explosiveness helps him off-ball too. Here he cuts from behind the net, and punishes one bad step by his defender.
The Princeton Tigers need to be aware of him at all times and be prepared to support this matchup. Any hopes of a Towson upset would presumably rely on a big day from number 1.
Win the Battle in Zone
This could be a key for both teams, as both showed a lot of zone over the weekend. But it’s more important for Princeton, as Towson is likely to turn to zone to slow the game down and have a better chance of competing with that talented PU midfield.
Towson plays a very unusual zone, with three long-sticks at the top, and short-sticks on the low pipe and inside. This is effective because most zone offences are top-down, so it takes away stretch shooters and mitigates skip passes. The challenge is that it puts a lot of pressure on the low short-stick, and opens the middle of the defence. Princeton doesn’t need much room to connect, as evidenced by this sick goal in the Ivy championship.
DISGUSTING, AND WE'RE ALL TIED‼️ pic.twitter.com/SdLb5xhtpA
— Princeton Men's Lacrosse (@TigerLacrosse) May 4, 2025
Against the TU zone, Princeton needs to attack from behind the net and force the low short sticks to guard the ball. These are tough spots for short-sticks, and will open up the interior. Drexel spent far too much time trying to find holes in the three poles up top.
Notice on this play, how Drexel forces the ball in from the top, and allows the three perimeter long sticks. They get a decent shot, but Princeton will need to make better decisions than this.
Towson – Don’t Foul
This one is pretty simple, as Princeton has the very best power play in the country, connecting more than 57% of the time. They scored twice against Cornell and did both quickly, not needing much time to find the net.
Upsets require winning at the margins. Towson can’t afford to spot the Princeton Tigers any easy goals. They need to stay out of the box.
X Factors
Towson – Ray Glass
Glass is the captain of the Towson team and is a member of the school’s ROTC unit. He is also reportedly the emotional leader of the team, inspiring the team with a pregame speech that was mentioned on the broadcast.
He is important for two reasons. As an SSDM, he plays an important role in the Towson defence. In man-on-man, he will need to play well against Tucker Wade and Chad Palumbo. In zone, Glass is often the man down low, with the toughest responsibility. Princeton is slick as they come, so he will need to be elite in that role in order to have success.
But more importantly, Towson needs to go into the Class of 1952 Stadium without any fear. Glass and the other seniors will be a big part of that emotional ramp, along with legendarily tough Head Coach Shawn Nadalen. If Princeton plays harder than Towson, the Maryland based Tigers have no shot.
Princeton – Ryan Croddick and Braedon Saris
Croddick was incredible against Cornell in the first half, before getting overrun in the third and fourth quarters. The Ivy Goalie of the Year sees more shots than almost anyone in the nation, but has been up to the task this year. He will need to be sharp, especially if the faceoff disparity continues.
Saris has been an under-the-radar story this year. Now up to 11 goals on the season, he has been productive on the second line recently. He entered his senior season with 7 goals in his career, but has 7 in the last 5 games. Carson Krammer didn’t play against Cornell, so Saris is the best option on the second line. His continued strong play would be a breath of oxygen to the PU offence.
The Princeton Tigers are the better team and should roll on Saturday, but crazier things have certainly happened. Towson is confident, tough and well coached. That’s a good formula this time of year.
This game goes 2:30 on Saturday from Princeton!