Christmas and co. set to take on Princeton

If you thought the road would get any easier for the men's lacrosse team after last week's painful 10-8 loss to Johns Hopkins, think again.

Tomorrow, No. 5 Princeton (0-1) hosts top-ranked Virginia (1-0) in a game that will feature not only two of the top teams in the country, but two of the top attackmen as well.

Last week, sophomore phenom John Christmas scored the game-winning goal with 22 seconds left to break a 15-15 deadlock and lift the then No. 4 Cavaliers over preseason No. 1 and last year's national champion, Syracuse.

For his four-goal, one-assist effort, Christmas was named National Player of the Week. The victory also marked the first time since 1999 that Virginia has beaten the Orangemen.

Bucking a trend

On the other side of the ball, Princeton lost its season opener to the Blue Jays (1-0) for the second straight year. That trend does not bode well for the Tigers. Since 1995, the three times Princeton has lost to Hopkins in the season kickoff, it has also gone on to lose to the Wahoos. Last season, Virginia topped the Tigers, 13-11, in Charlottesville after a Princeton opening day loss, 8-5, to the Blue Jays.

Trying to change that pattern will be, among others, junior attack Ryan Boyle. In last week's game, despite being stuffed on several close shots, Boyle recorded two assists, extending his streak of having at least one point in every game of his college career.

Admittedly, however, Boyle did not have his finest game against Hopkins.

"Ryan will be the first to tell you that he tried to do too much himself on offense," head coach Bill Tierney said. "When things aren't going well, great players sometimes try to make too much of it. Ryan just wants to win so much."

In this week's game, something is going to have to give. The Virginia offense showed last week that it will be tough for any defense in the country to stop its persistent attack. The Tigers, on the other hand, showed that their defense has the potential to put the clamps down when it is playing well. After giving up four goals late in the second period, the Tiger back line did not allow a goal for over 25 minutes of the second half.

Though two late goals sealed the win for the Blue Jays, Princeton held in check for most of the second half an offense that seemed nearly unstoppable a half earlier.

If the game becomes a shootout, expect certain stars to rise to the top.

For the Wahoos, Christmas will be joined by senior midfielder A.J. Shannon, who scored four goals and picked up two assists in the upset win last week. Also helping will be sophomore attack Joe Yevoli, who netted four goals, and freshman attack Matt Ward, who tallied three times in his collegiate debut.

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The depth and mix of youth and experience on the Virginia attack line holds constant for the entire squad.

"UVA has everyone back except for [attack] Conor Gil," Tierney said.

"They have a great freshman, a good coach and probably the best mix of young guys and old guys of any team in the country."

Princeton's attack features a more veteran look. Joining Boyle is senior attack Sean Hartofilis, who led the Tigers last week with three points on two goals and an assist. Also on the front line is sophomore Jason Doneger, who played with skill and composure in his return after taking a year off.

The midfield is all experience. Last week the team got points from seniors Owen Daly, Brad Dumont, Will MacColl, Josh White and Matt Trevenen.

Instrumental in containing the potent Cavalier offense will be senior netminder Julian Gould. Gould played some of the best lacrosse of his career last week, stopping several pointblank shots in keeping the Tigers close.

Spectacular play may be necessary this week to keep Christmas and Co. from running up the score.

After Virginia, the path will remain potholed and treacherous for at least another few weeks. Before they can breath, the Tigers will take on Hofstra and Syracuse in consecutive weeks. The team then gets a "break" in No. 15 Rutgers before starting what promises to be a highly competitive Ivy League schedule.