Despite low seed, Loyola to present a number of problems for men's lax

At first glance, this is not an out-of-the-ordinary situation for the No. 2 seed Princeton lacrosse team. This is not the first time this group has made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships. Nor is this the first time that they have had a high seed to go along with that.

What is different about tomorrow's quarterfinal matchup with No. 7 Loyola is that Princeton will be playing a stronger seventh seed than in years past. Over the last few seasons, the distance that separates the very best teams — Prince-ton, Syracuse, Maryland, etc. — and the other teams in the Top 10 has narrowed. A few years ago, Princeton would not have thought twice about a game against a No. 7 seed. Now, the team has its hands full.

After all, the Greyhounds beat then-No. 1 Orangemen on April 7 in overtime. That was a Syracuse team that had torn through the Tigers only two weeks earlier. Loyola has also shown its ability to play with teams such as Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins, two other schools with top-five rankings.

The field is closing in. The Greyhounds will be ready. To gain a victory, Princeton must be the same.

"Loyola's a team that is a little underrated, so we just have to prepare well and get ready to play," junior defenseman Scott Farrell said.

It must be mentioned, however, that regardless of how much the field has closed in and caught up to Princeton and the other top squads, the Tigers are still the better team. If both Princeton and Loyola both play their best games, the Tigers will likely come out with the victory.

The first advantage Princeton has is that it has been free to train for only this game for the last two weeks. While Loyola was training specifically for its May 12 matchup with Georgetown, the Tigers were able to watch films of both teams. Princeton has had enough time to study Loyola's style and prepare for the different type of play which the Greyhounds might bring.

"Loyola is a very patient team which plays solid, hard-nosed lacrosse," men's lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney said.

When Coach Tierney says Loyola is patient, though, he does not refer to a low-scoring, slow paced game. The Greyhounds are anything but that.

Loyola scored 14 goals against Syracuse — Princeton had eight. In fact, the Greyhounds have scored more goals against all four opponents they have in common with the Tigers — Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Hofstra and Hobart. Thus, one could argue that Loyola has a better offense than do the Tigers.

On the other hand, nobody could argue that the Greyhounds have a better defense than Princeton. In those four matchups, Loyola gave up an average of 12.25 goals per game compared to the Tigers' allowance of only 7.5 per game.

The question now is whether or not Loyola's offense is better than Princeton's defense. While the Greyhounds have a very good offense, it is difficult to argue that any line in the country can compare to a defense that has given up a mere five goals per game.

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Another common measuring stick that could separate the two teams is their win-loss record against common opponents. Since both Loyola and Princeton won three and lost one against the four, though, that does not help.

One other area in which the Tigers have a distinct advantage is in the goal. Princeton's starting netminder, Trevor Tierney, is arguably the best in the country with a 4.8 goals per game average and has saved 70 percent of the shots on goal. The Greyhounds starting keeper has allowed 9.75 goals per game and has saved only 51 percent.

Another advantage that might fall to Princeton is playoff experience. The last time Loyola made it past the quarterfinals was in 1998 when it fell to Maryland in the semis. The Greyhounds then lost their next two postseason matchups before breaking their three-game losing streak last week by beating the Hoyas.

Compare that to Princeton's impressive late-round record. The Tigers have qualified for the semifinals each year since 1996 and have won the national championship in three of those years (1996, 1997 and 1998).

Princeton has the experience. They definitely have the defense. The Tigers should have the victory.