Scanning the field during last year's NCAA lacrosse championship, No. 12, the then sophomore attack B.J. Prager, could not be seen cutting across the net in a thicket of traffic and launching a quickstick shot. Uncharacteristically, Prager was on the sidelines.
Nine games into the season, Prager suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which landed him on the bench for the remainder of the regular season and the subsequent NCAA tournament, where Princeton lost to top-ranked Syracuse in the championship game, 13-7.
The loss of Prager, the leading scorer going into that ninth game of the season, was a crushing blow for the Tigers.
"[He has the] ability to take his game to a higher level when it counts the most," junior defenseman Scott Farrell said. "He is truly at his best when the stakes are the highest."
Prager honed his skills in Garden City, N.Y.. An avid soccer player, it wasn't until junior year at Garden City High School that he started to develop a considerable interest in the sport when a few of the seniors failed to step up their games. Prager did.
He led his team to the New York State Class B championship game against Corning East. Playing against his current roommate and teammate, Farrell, Prager netted the winning overtime goal.
It took Prager little time to adjust to college play. He notched a pair of goals in the first quarter of his first game as a Tiger against Johns Hopkins. Though Princeton would go onto lose that game 13-12, the game showcased Prager's impressive scoring ability.
In fact, his freshman year couldn't have gone much better. He started each of the 12 regular season games and tallied 24 goals, thus breaking the record for freshman scoring and helping him earn the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.
Prager picked up where he left off at the beginning of his sophomore year with a scoring frenzy. In one week, he earned Ivy League Player of the Week honors for scoring 11 times in a stretch of three games.
Going into the Tigers' game against Cornell, he was Princeton's leading goal-scorer with 23 goals.
It was in the late first quarter of that game that Prager caught his foot in the turf, twisted it and suffered his season-ending knee injury.
The injury required surgery, which he underwent immediately after the NCAA championship game. This was followed by an extensive rehabilitation period.
"He spent countless hours in physical therapy and in the training room," Farrell said.
Prager sat out the fall season to further strengthen his knee. During this time, he attributes his ability to maintain some of his skills to trainer George O'Neil's incorporation of lacrosse-related strengthening drills.
With his knee rehabilitated, Prager reported to the first day of spring practice.
"The toughest is the psychological factor," Prager said of his return to play.
These days, Prager is starting to feel like his old self, returning again to his typical high level of play.
"I feel close to completely recovered," Prager said. "The more I've been playing, the better I'm feeling. Now, I'm taking more assertive action."
"The fact that he progressed from a wheelchair to resuming his All-American form in only eight months is particularly remarkable," Farrell said. "Many people thought his career was over, but I think that only inspired him to work harder and prove them wrong."
With his injury behind him, Prager is confidently awaiting the upcoming season. His focus for now is on this weekend when Princeton opens the season by hosting Johns Hopkins on Saturday at 1 p.m..
"I'm really looking forward to having some revenge," Prager said, referring to the loss the team suffered at the hands of the Blue Jays his freshman year at 1952 stadium.
Prager's ultimate goal for the season is returning to and winning the championship game.
"Watching that game made me that much hungrier," Prager said.
At the NCAA tournament last year, amidst a crowd of 25,000 people, Prager could not help but be swept up in the moment.
"[That feeling] is what I want to strive to get back to."
At the championship game this year, Prager hopes to be seen in front of the opponent's net, among a throng of defenseman. It's where he excels.
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