Princeton Backbone Gianforcaro Channeling Brady, Jordan to Inspire Tigers

Michael Gianforcaro figured his last shot was behind him.

Not because the Princeton senior was a goalie, per se. He had scored in high school and club ball. But an errant shot in last month’s 15-5 defeat of Dartmouth — and the subsequent bailout when teammate Colin Mulshine intercepted a pass on the ensuing ride — left Gianforcaro content not to inch too far across midfield and risk earning coach Matt Madalon’s ire.

“Coach Mads was not happy with me,” Gianforcaro said this week. “After the game, my dad was like, ‘That was a great shot.’ I said, ‘Actually, no, it was not a great shot. I shot it right in his stick.’ He said, ‘You’ll take some more.’ I said, ‘No, I won’t take any more. That’s the last one I’m going to take in college. I won’t make that mistake twice.’”

Or so he thought.

Instead, Gianforcaro scored with 3:46 to go in last week’s 15-10 victory over Penn, squelching any hint of a Quaker comeback after they had closed within three just 30 seconds earlier.

Toss in 15 saves and a couple ground balls — basically, just a normal day at the office for Gianforcaro — and it was a performance that helped save the Tigers’ season.

Princeton (8-4, 3-2 Ivy) had not had a goalie score since Alex Hewit’s goal against Brown in 2008.

“It was a really special play, and it was a really tight game, too,” said Madalon, himself a goalie in his playing days at Roanoke College and Major League Lacrosse. “We’re obviously very fortunate it worked out. I didn’t cross the midline much. I think one time, my head college coach, Bill Pilat, was not thrilled with the outcome. Gio is a heck of a lot more athletic than I was, and he was moving pretty fast and he made a heck of a play.”

Difference-making plays are business as usual for Gianforcaro. Princeton didn’t play his freshman year because the Ivy League permitted only limited competition in 2021, and he then logged less than 19 minutes as a sophomore.

He emerged as a full-time starter a month into his junior year after operating in a timeshare as the Tigers navigated non-conference play and had nearly twice as many saves (32) as goals allowed (17) in Princeton’s Ivy League tournament run.

That earned him MVP honors of the tournament and got the Tigers into their second consecutive NCAA tournament. And after finishing second nationally in save percentage in 2023, his .565 mark this year ranks eighth in Division I entering Princeton’s visit to Yale (11-2, 4-1).

This was a less experienced Tigers team than the last two years after an impactful group of seniors with eligibility remaining thanks to the NCAA’s COVID-era blanket waiver had to move on and continue their careers elsewhere because of Ivy League regulations.

It made Gianforcaro the backbone of this Princeton team, both because of his play and his off-field intangibles.

“I keep going back to his competitive nature and the way he shows up to the building and the locker room every day,” Madalon said. “For years, it’s exactly the same. … He just does an outstanding job permeating this extreme passion that helps everyone around him. It could be a casual stickwork drill or a warmup drill, and he is up your rear if you’re not working hard or you’re floating passes or making mistakes. There is no room for error in his quest to compete for the orange and black.”

Gianforcaro concurs about his competitive streak, and he believes it comes from a few places. As the youngest of three, he couldn’t slack off if he was going to jump into the activities of his brother, who is four years older.

He’s also watched series about Michael Jordan and Tom Brady and seen how much those stars demanded of those around them.

“I think one of the best messages is that mediocrity is never OK,” Gianforcaro said. “It’s OK to make mistakes, but it’s not OK to not go to full speed. That’s something I try to follow every day and something I try to hopefully have the team follow every day. …When you watch these great teams play, they try to maximize every day and that’s something we say we want to do, so I just try to bring that energy and build up guys around me as much as possible.”

And every now and then, that energy can lead to a magical moment — as it did with his goal against Penn last week.

“Everything opened up just like it did against Dartmouth,” Gianforcaro said. “I tried to get underneath and get myself to a better angle. Luckily, the ball went in. Otherwise, I don’t know if I’d be the starting goalie anymore.”