Men's lacrosse satisfied only with return to title game

Six national championships in eleven seasons. Three straight championship game appearances. Thirteen returning seniors, seven of whom are starters. The expectations could not be higher for the men's lacrosse team entering the 2003 season.

One of the most difficult aspects of this season will be to properly balance the playing time between the veterans and the rookies.

"We are old and young at the same time," head coach Bill Tierney said. "When you have thirteen seniors you try not to stifle them, but on the other hand you have to teach the young kids. You can't leave yourself nothing for next year."

Certainly, the Tigers (0-1 overall) have plenty in the tank for this season. Seven starters return from last year's team.

The biggest loss from last season is B.J. Prager '02, who finished his Princeton career fourth on the all-time goalscoring list. On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers will miss Scott Farrell and defensive middie Kyle Baugher, also of the class of 2002.

While the Tigers are certainly missing these three superstars, each of which was an integral part of last year's team, there are plenty of guys who are anxious to fill their shoes.

Even with the loss of Prager, the Tigers are still dominant up front. Junior attack Ryan Boyle may be one of the best players to ever play lacrosse at Princeton, and not just because of his athletic ability.

"Ryan is the smartest lacrosse player I have ever coached," Tierney said. "Once the guys get used to him, it will all come together."

He is joined on the attack by returning senior starter Sean Hartofolis. Hartofolis had 34 goals last season and is already 12th on Princeton's all-time list. Sophomore Jason Doneger will try to fill the void left by Prager. After taking a year off, Doneger has been thrust into the starting position and his job is to replace Prager's inside scoring ability.

"We are not better and we are not worse on offense," Tierney said. "We are just different."

Finding the net

While the question of better or worse will not be settled until the season draws to a close, it is clear that Princeton will have to do a better job of canning the shot. The team had at least five good looks on goal against Johns Hopkins on Saturday in which it came up empty.

With the Tigers' style of defense, the position of defensive midfield is of vital importance. Baugher had manned this position, and the Tigers do not have a clear choice to replace him. None of the six midfielders who will see regular playing time this season have played much at the defensive midfield position.

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"We are a little thin at the midfield in terms of how many guys we have," Tierney said. "If one of them goes down, a young kid will get thrown in the mix."

Of the six midfielders who will have regular repetitions, five — Owen Daly, Brad Dumont, Josh White, Matt Trevenen, and Will MacColl — are seniors. Dumont was a second team All-America last season and MacColl is coming back after missing last year with a torn ACL.

Senior Joe Rosenbaum took over the longstick middie position a year ago and will continue in that role this season.

On defense, a spot which has long been the Tigers' focus, Princeton returns two starters — seniors Damien Davis and Brian Lieberman. Junior Ricky Schultz looks to try and replace Farrell. Davis was a second team All-America last season and is one of the best one-on-one defenders in Princeton history.

The Tigers had some trouble on defense Saturday, but Tierney says that may have had more to do with the coaching than with the players.

"On defense, the concern is me," he said. "The kids are doing everything we are asking of them and it is our job to put them in a position to make plays."

In goal, the Tigers will start senior Julian Gould. Gould was inconsistent last season, and his starting job was in jeopardy heading into this year with the addition of freshman Dave Law. However, Gould responded with hard work in the offseason and has secured his starting job. Gould had 13 saves against Hopkins, giving up 10 goals.

"I told our guys after the game, don't jump off the Princeton bandwagon because we lost one game," Tierney said.

Indeed what happens in March is inconsequential compared to what transpires in the end of May. When you are talking about Princeton lacrosse, the expectations are to be playing Memorial Day weekend for the national championship and to send off the 13 seniors the way they deserve — as champions.