"We started a long time ago this concept of going undefeated in the Ivy League. This game's about remaining undefeated," men's lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney said.
"This game's about a third straight senior class going out without ever losing an Ivy League game."
The last season in which Princeton suffered an Ivy loss was 1995 against Cornell. With the freshmen from that game graduating in 1998, that means that Princeton has had two classes in a row — the classes of 1999 and 2000 — graduate without a loss in the Ancient Eight.
The Tigers (9-1 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) will try to add the class of 2001 to that prestigious list as they take on Dartmouth (6-6, 1-3) at 1952 Stadium tomorrow at noon in the final Ivy League game of the season. With a win or a Cornell loss to Brown, the Tigers win the conference outright for the seventh straight time.
Not only will Princeton be trying to finish off its sixth straight season without an Ivy loss, but the team also wants to regain some of the momentum which it lost last Saturday when it narrowly beat Cornell 7-4.
"We feel that we had a setback last weekend," Tierney said. "We won, it was a huge win and we're proud of the kids for persevering through that second half, but we want to bounce back and get on a roll heading into the playoffs."
According to probability, Princeton should get back on that roll in tomorrow's game. Dartmouth can, however, slow down the Tigers if each of a certain number of things goes its way.
First of all, the Big Green need Princeton's offense to start poorly. Such was the case last week, when the Tigers scored only one goal in the first half against a Cornell squad not particularly known for its defense.
Dartmouth, however, is indeed known for its defense. If Princeton comes out flat, the Big Green could keep the total scoring below 10 goals, a feat which Dartmouth must achieve due to its relatively weak offense.
"The hard thing about Dartmouth is that they play such great team defense, and we know better than anybody else that that's how you win games," Tierney said. "They're not a team that has six or seven guys that will kill you offensively, but defensively, they play very well."
If Princeton's offense comes ready to play, then it is all over for Dartmouth. If it does not, however, then the Big Green will need solid goalkeeping to keep even a struggling Princeton offense within reach. Dartmouth's goalkeeper is former high school All-America Mike Gault, who, when playing well, is considered to be among the top few in the country.
"There's no question that their goalie can be very hot at times, so they're really excited about him," Tierney said. "We'll want to make sure that we can get to him early."
One way in which Dartmouth might be able to keep the Tigers from "getting to" Gault, though, is to win an overwhelming majority of face-offs, an area that has been a weakness at times for Princeton.
After a rough start on the season, senior midfielder Matt Bailer has showed signs of re-emerging as one of the top face-off men in the country. He was winning slightly below 50 percent of face-offs before last week, prompting the insertion of freshman midfielder Drew Casino for some draws, but Bailer came up strong against Cornell.
His efforts helped facilitate the second half comeback, in which Princeton scored the final six goals of the game and clinched the Ivy League's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
"We were winning face-offs," Tierney said of that second half. "Matt Bailer really, really came to play against Cornell."
If any of those variables goes wrong for Dartmouth — Princeton wins a majority of the face-offs, Princeton's offense is hot, or Dartmouth's goalie is not — then the Big Green will likely be out of the game by the end of the first half, giving the Tigers their sixth straight undefeated season in the Ivy League, and allowing the class of 2001 to go into the books as one of the greats.
With a win, Princeton can extend its Ivy League winning-streak to 37 games. If the Tigers beat Dartmouth, the lacrosse team's streak will break the men's tennis team's record from 1976-81 for the longest Ivy winning streak of any team at Princeton.
Also, the Tigers' conference winning streak is just three games shy of Cornell's mark in men's lacrosse, established during the 1970s.
"Our players want to go undefeated and win the title because they know that the teams before them did the same," Tierney said.
"It's a home game, a big double-header with the women; it's a big alumni weekend, so it will be good Ivy League lacrosse."
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