(Photo Courtesy of Ralston Valley Lacrosse)

Matt Madalon and the Princeton Tigers received some good news on Monday afternoon as Ralston Valley (Colo.) defenseman Zach Friedman flipped his commitment from Syracuse to the Tigers.

Friedman is the first player to decommit or flip from the Orange since the hiring of Syracuse legend Gary Gait as head coach earlier this summer.

With the move, Friedman becomes the eighth member of the Tigers’ 2022 class and second on the defensive end, joining Christ School (N.C.) LSM Nick Crowley. The defenseman also adds to the classes’ western footprint, becoming the fourth commit to hail from west of the Mississippi.

Rated as a three-star by Inside Lacrosse, Friedman is coming off a junior season in which he led the Mustangs with 64 ground balls and and 19 caused turnovers. He was named First-Team All-State and All-Conference. Friedman was also selected to the Under Armour Underclassmen All-American Southwest squad this summer.

Friedman is a tri-sport athlete, playing both football and basketball for Ralston Valley in addition to lacrosse.