M. lacrosse shows Yale who's boss in the Ivy League

With last year's 15-13 loss to Yale still fresh in its memory, the men's lacrosse team jumped all over the Elis on Saturday, pounding the host No. 16 Bulldogs (4-2 overall, 0-2 Ivy League), 15-5.

Princeton (4-2, 1-0), No. 3 in the country entering the game, took a 3-0 lead after the first quarter of play and held a dominating 8-0 advantage with less than five minutes to play in the first half before Yale got on the board. After trading goals late in the second period, the Tigers took a luxurious 9-1 edge into the locker room.

Princeton controlled play on both ends of the field from the word "go" with its only statistical weakness coming on face-offs, where the visitors won just 10 of 24.

"We think [freshman midfielder] Ryan [Schoenig] can become a 60 percent guy for us," head coach Bill Tierney said. "But right now, we're just emphasizing trying to take your share. Go out there and win your 50 percent."

While face-offs will continue to be an area of focus for Princeton, many of Tierney's worries about the team were assuaged this weekend.

In the two games prior to the Yale victory, offensive production from the midfield had dropped considerably. In last Tuesday's 10-8 win over Rutgers, the midfield accounted for just one assist, while the attack line carried the team with all ten goals and four assists.

"I'm really concerned about scoring from the midfield," Tierney said. "That's something we've been very good at in the past. And we have a lot of the same guys back who were strong, they're just not scoring right now."

Rewriting the record books

Perhaps in response to their coach's concern, the midfield stepped up on Saturday. Senior Brad Dumont found the back of the net four times in the first half and classmate Josh White scored twice and picked up an assist. Though not a concern of Tierney's, the attack line continued its stellar play from the previous three games. Senior attack Sean Hartofilis, coming off a dominating six-goal performance against Rutgers, scored five times and picked up two dishes on the afternoon. His five goals moved him into sixth place for goals scored all-time at Princeton at 104.

Junior attack Ryan Boyle, who also had a good outing against Rutgers, continued his strong play and furthered his case for National Player of the Year consideration. Boyle scored once and added a career-high seven assists, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time at Princeton with 89.

Another primary concern for the coaching staff this year has been depth. Though it boasts one of the strongest and most experienced starting lineups in the country, the team's youth and inexperience outside the top 13 provides little room for error or injury.

"We need to play more people," Tierney said. "We've got to start playing the young people and giving them a chance."

On Saturday, the Tigers were able to rotate in a number of younger players and saw positive things happen on the field.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Sophomore Matt Larkin and freshman Dave Law both saw minutes guarding the net. Larkin made six saves while giving up three goals, and Law stopped four of the five shots he faced.

On the field, freshman midfielder Erik Kudla chipped in with a goal, and sophomore midfielder Mac Bryson, who has begun to see more playing time, netted his second goal of the year.

"Mac is all about confidence," Tierney said. "He has all the ability in the world, a lot of talent. But he's got to have confidence."

Though Princeton answered a lot of the question marks it had entering the game, if there is one area that should help Tierney sleep well at night, it has been the play of senior netminder Julian Gould.

Gould has been nothing short of spectacular over the Tigers' recent four-game winning streak, and he capped off an eight-day, three-game stretch by stopping nine of the 10 shots he face against Yale. Gould is playing with more confidence than ever, which has in turn allowed the defensemen to play looser and with more confidence.

"Team defense is what we strive for," Tierney said. "Julian's been able to bail us out when we break down. But there's a lot of chemistry out there right now and it's working."