Men's lacrosse dominates early in win over Quakers

PHILADELPHIA — After Yale held the men's lacrosse team scoreless in the first quarter of their game Saturday, No. 2 Princeton resolved to play better in the opening minutes of Ivy League contests. The Tigers did just that yesterday against Penn in Philadelphia, jumping out to a 6-0 advantage in the first eight minutes, 38 seconds of the game and holding on for a 19-8 victory.

"We really thought it was neccessary to get off to a good start," head coach Bill Tierney said. "In all my years at Princeton, I haven't seen us shoot the ball like we did today in the first half."

Freshman attackman Ryan Boyle scored two goals, both in the early run, and had six assists, while playing only about half the game to lead the Tigers (6-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League). The freshman's eight points were the most since Jesse Hubbard's '98 nine against Hobart in 1996, and his six assists was the best showing in that category since 1993. Boyle leads Princeton in scoring with 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) this season.

The Tigers scored 19 goals for the first time since 1998, and Tierney stopped the onslought before the Tigers would reach 20.

"We came out early and got on top and played very well," Tierney said. "Everyone got to play."

Princeton did not take the Quakers (3-4, 1-3) lightly. Penn gave the Tigers a scare the last time the teams met at Franklin Field, taking a 7-3 lead into the third quarter and having a chance to tie the game with seconds to play before falling, 9-8, and keeping Princeton's Ivy winning streak alive. After yesterday's rout of the Quakers, Princeton has won 33 straight conference matchups, six shy of Cornell's mark set during the mid-seventies.

"I'm sure [Penn] was disappointed — last time we were here, they should have beat us," Tierney said. "But they played as hard at the end as they did in the beginning."

The Tigers had two problems earlier in the season — shooting and faceoffs. The shooting problem should be pronounced officially dead — sophomore attackman Sean Hartoflis, who was struggling with his shot earlier in the season, scored four goals — and Princeton has shown signs of improvement on draws.

The hot shooting for the Tigers started as soon as the game did. Senior attackman Matt Striebel scored the first points of the game 1:45 into the first quarter, with the assist going to Boyle. The freshman then added two goals of his own, just nine seconds apart, and then assisted junior attackman B.J. Prager on a goal 23 seconds later. After the quick start, Penn was shaken and was never able to seriously threaten the Tigers.

Princeton gave a number of players quality time on the field, especially in the second half, as the score was 13-4 at the intermission. Senior goalie Trevor Tierney was pulled for his backup, sophomore Julian Gould, a few minutes into the third quarter, and by the end of the game, most of the Tiger starters were resting on the bench.

The Tiger starters needed rest because Princeton was playing its fifth straight road game in a period of just 17 days. But the Tigers now return home to 1952 Stadium — where they have never lost an Ivy matchup — for four of their final five regular season contests, beginning with Brown Saturday at 1 p.m.

"It didn't seem like that big a deal when we started this stretch. Only [Syracuse] was an overnight trip," coach Tierney said. "But we're a little tired now. It'll be good to play at home."

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Even if they were tired, a number of players managed to score multiple goals. Besides Boyle and Hartfolis, Prager, freshman attackman Jason Doneger, senior midfielder Rob Torti and junior attackman Brendan Tierney each had two goals.

Two sophomores — attackman Will MacColl and midfielder Josh White — missed the game with hamstring pulls.