THE REVOLUTION IS HERE! Princeton Advances to the Playoffs with Stellar Performance in Front of Rabid Home Court Fans
The moment when the Princeton Revolution completed their remarkable comeback from last place to Final Four playoff-bound title contender. Princeton and Carolina will represent the East Division at MLTT’s 2024 Championship Weekend on April 27-28th in Chicago, IL.
March 19, 2024. The Princeton Revolution have punched their playoff ticket in the most dramatic fashion possible. In front of a packed arena filled with raucous partisan fans, Coach Mathias Habesohn’s surging squad set the crowd ablaze with their stunning play against a determined, back-to-the-wall Florida Crocs team on Friday, and then a highly-motivated Carolina Gold Rush on Saturday, during which many in the crowd were heard exclaiming “Is this really happening?!?” when it became apparent that Princeton would clinch a playoff spot if they won an Ultimate Golden Game point which pitted (you guessed it) Angela Guan against Hong Lin. Perhaps emblematic of the Revolution’s turnaround this season, it was Guan this time raising her fist in elation and victory while Hong was reduced to tears by the cruelty of it all…a high ball that she absolutely smashes for a winner 99-out-of-100 times. Rewind the video of this inaugural MLTT season back to the first two weeks, and it was Angela on the Princeton bench breaking down in tears after losing 8 straight GG points to Hong….so yes, Angela and Princeton prepared for this moment and played unbelievably well, but whatever gods of Pong exist were certainly smiling down upon them this weekend too.
ULTIMATE PLAYOFF-CLINCHING GOLDEN POINT!!! What a remarkable turn of fate that would lead Angela Guan and her Princeton Revolutionary teammates to this moment, a single point between her and frenemesis Hong Lin with Princeton’s ticket to Championship Weekend at stake.
And while we didn’t want to bury the lede, it should be noted that it was Princeton’s dominating and impressive Friday night win over the feisty Crocs, fighting for their playoff lives as well, that even put Princeton in position to clinch on Saturday instead of their final match vs the Chicago Wind on Sunday. Don’t take anything away from Coach Frank Arias’ team, they fought tooth-and-nail with Princeton and while the lopsided final match score didn’t reflect how close this match was (the individual games were all tightly contested), the Crocs acquitted themselves admirably and with class. But in the end, it was shots like this that carried Princeton inevitably and inexorably to the decisive and frankly, somewhat shocking 18-3 result:
Princeton’s doubles pairing of Angela Guan and Jishan Liang accomplished what they had ever done this entire season…defeat both Florida and Carolina. They did so thanks to “beyond the realms of absurdity” shots like this one.
…and the one too. Florida’s doubles tandem of Gorak-Ekholm got a taste of Liang’s “all-in” backhand as well.
While the Revolution decisively beating out the Crocs for the final playoff spot may have been the top story this past weekend, a close second would be the massive crowds of spectators who packed the arena for all three days…”The Revolutionaries” as they are known, were certainly front and center in lending their beloved team a big helping hand, driving the players to levels of excellence not previously seen this season.
THE REVOLUTIONARIES! Princeton Revolutionary fan base is second to none. Coach Mathias Habesohn, the players and even the owners could not stop talking all weekend long about how the relentlessly raucous crowd support gave them an advantage against both Florida and Carolina. No hometown curse here!
Furthermore, it wasn’t just Princeton fans! Carolina, Chicago and Florida fans were also seen (and heard) throughout the weekend. Check out the crowds for the Chicago vs Florida match:
Big crowds cheer for Damien Provost versus Daniel Gorak…VIP seats filled 3 rows deep and general admission stands at near capacity.
It bears noting that both Carolina and Chicago achieved very different but significant goals this weekend. For the top seed and Championship-or-Bust Gold Rush, it was to maintain complete focus and establish competitive balance with possible championship matchup Princeton. For Chicago, looking forward to next season, it was to finish strong and prove to the world but also to themselves that they can compete with the best in the East, which they more than showed with victories over both Carolina and Princeton sandwiched between a close loss to Florida.
How do you summarize a season like the one Princeton just had? Words don’t seem to be enough, but the emotion that’s apparent in Coach Mathias Habesohn’s words were very real.
The final regular season standings for the East Division.
With the conclusion of the East Division’s final event, #1 Carolina and #2 Princeton will look with intense interest at the upcoming final event of the West Division to see who they’ll each draw in the semifinal round of the Championship playoff. Koch Arena in Wichita, KS will be the site of the event on April 5-7, with Bay Area, Portland, and Texas all in the thick of the playoff battle, with Seattle on the outside looking for a minor miracle to get in as well. Tickets are are sale here, but if you can’t make it, be sure to catch it on the livestream broadcast!
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: the Princeton Revolution have asked us at Majorponghead to help them send out a message of love and respect to the Florida Crocs. The team issued the following statement: “Princeton vs Florida was the best rivalry in the league all season long, and like how iron sharpens iron, we made each other better through our repeated and sometimes heated battles. We wanted to express our great admiration and respect for you guys (and gal) in green over there in Chomp Swamp. And yes, we know that next season you’ll be coming for us again. We’ll be ready for you!”
