List of problems haunts men's lacrosse; Tigers trying to recover from early losses

No one expected this. No one could have even imagined this. After winning its sixth national championship in 10 years last May, the men's lacrosse team now sits at 2-4 overall and on the brink of missing the postseason for the first time in over 10 years. To add insult to injury, the Tigers' 37-game unbeaten streak in the Ivy League was snapped by Yale last Saturday, two games before Princeton would have broken Cornell's league record of 39 straight conference wins.

The Tigers' lack of success this year is all the more surprising given the strong core of players remaining from last year's team. Princeton returned its entire attack line and the majority of both its midfield and its stingy back line that led the nation in scoring defense. Now, the loss of All-America goalie Trevor Tierney '01, Defenseman of the Year Ryan Mollet '01 and midfielders Matt Striebel '01 and Rob Torti is not seeming as trivial as it did just a few months ago.

"People always wanted to knock Ryan and Trevor and say that they didn't deserve the attention they got," Tierney said. "People were always unsure about Striebel and Torti. Well, we're 2-4 now. It makes you look back and recognize what those guys did for us."

In order to right this ship, the team and the coaching staff are going to have to figure out exactly what those leaders brought and how this year's team can fill in the gaps. The laundry list of problems is extensive.

Princeton is known for its defense. Last season the team gave up an average of six goals per game. This season that number has climbed to nearly 10. Last season, the Tigers kept their opponents shooting percentage to 19%. This year they have allowed opponents to shoot 29%. Three times already, the Princeton defense has given up at least 11 goals in a game, with Yale's recent 15-goal outburst serving as the most notable.

The loss of Mollet and Tierney has clearly had a profound impact, but defensemen senior Scott Farrell and junior Damien Davis have stepped up well. Junior goalie Julian Gould has been a wild card in net this year, showing outstanding reflexes in some games and looking unsure of himself in others.

"To say that Julian has had a great year would be a lie," Tierney said. "He has played phenomenally at times, as he did in the Hopkins game, but he had a rough outing versus Yale."

To put the entire blame on the back line, however, would undermine the emphasis that Tierney puts on his whole team playing solid defense. In fact, despite the offense's solid production this year, the midfield and attack may be just as responsible for the seeming lack of defense.

"Preventing teams from scoring goals has a lot to do with our offense," Tierney said. "Right now, our offense is giving up a lot of easy transition opportunities. We're not smart with the ball. Our defense can't be good if our offense isn't helping."

Easy transition goals have been a serious problem for the Tigers this year. Against Virginia, the team's second half comeback was stunted by costly turnovers and quick goals by the Cavaliers on odd-man rushes.

Similarly, Yale scored several of their goals off of Tiger turnovers. It was those quick goals that allowed the Elis to jump out to a six-goal lead and hold off Princeton at the end.

Despite these first-half problems, the Tigers still have a shot at the NCAA tournament and the opportunity to defend their crown. If the team can win its remaining conference games, it will be assured of no worse than a share of the Ivy title. However, the squad needs Yale — who recently lost to Cornell — to lose one more conference game in order to make the postseason as the Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Tigers.

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That scenario, however, will never be realized if Princeton cannot turn its season around. Of all the things it can do on the field, Tierney thinks it may be the intangibles of the game that can lift up his team.

"The most important thing last year was our drive to win," Tierney said. "Something about coming off a national championship makes it tough to find that fire to push you. We have the talent to do it, but those intrinsic things make the difference. Hard work wins national championships — not listening to what they say about you in the press clippings."