M. lacrosse hosts Quinnipiac, but Boyle will sit with injury

Never underestimate an opponent. Every coach of a dominant team in every sport has said this for years. Getting the players to listen is a bit harder.

Men's lacrosse faces this problem almost every time it steps onto the field. As such, head coach Bill Tierney is worried about the team's lack of enthusiasm against lesser foes.

"Every game is an opportunity to perform," Tierney said. "We can't get caught like we did last year against Yale."

The Tigers (5-2 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) will have to be especially careful tonight at home against Quinnipiac (2-6, 1-1 America East) with the absense of junior captain and attack Ryan Boyle.

Boyle pulled a hamstring with less than four minutes remaining in the Tigers' 12-6 win over Penn on Tuesday. Boyle, reigning Ivy League Player of the Year, leads the team in scoring with six goals and 24 assists.

More important than stats is the leadership he brings to the game. Tierney routinely refers to him as the "quarterback" on the field.

While his status for next weekend's game against Harvard is uncertain, Tierney is not optimistic.

Moving up from the midfield to take Boyle's place will be senior Matt Trevenen. Trevenen played attack his freshman year before switching positions. He took Boyle's place in the Penn game and had two goals and two assists.

"We'll start with [Trevenen] in there, but a lot will depend on who [Quinnipiac] plays on him," Tierney said.

The Tigers will shuffle their lineup early in tonight's game to find the best possible combination.

Quinnipiac is one of the weaker foes the Tigers will face this year. The Bobcats are unranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association rankings but are a young team capable of making some noise.

Princeton is currently ranked No. 2 in the USILA poll, trailing only Johns Hopkins.

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"They've had two great recruiting classes in a row," Tierney said. "They are extremely young, but that makes them dangerous."

Quinnipiac has some good wins but also some bad losses so far this year, something that comes with youth. Most recently the Bobcats upset Stony Brook.

However, Tierney is more concerned about his own team than he is about the opposition. The game will be a chance for Princeton to play its game and not be forced into making adjustments.

The game will also allow the Tigers to extend their bench, something Princeton has been unable to do this season.

Sophomore midfielder Mac Bryson, who was one of Tierney's most touted recruits last year, should see the biggest increase in playing time. He will be taking Trevenen's place in the midfield.

All the midfielders will be counted on to continue the strong scoring they have provided in the past two games.

The midfield accounted for nine of the Tigers' 12 goals against Penn.

Before this recent offensive explosion Princeton had just a two-pronged attack with senior attack Sean Hartofilis and sophomore attack Jason Doneger. It was only a matter of time before teams shut them down.

With one of his main concerns assuaged, Tierney now turns his attention to getting his team off to better starts.

Princeton has struggled out of the gate many times this season. One of the reasons is the grueling schedule that the Tigers have played. The game against Quinnipiac will be Princeton's sixth in 19 days.

However, the team plays only one game over the next 14 days after tonight.

This will give Boyle more time to recover so that he might be ready to play against Cornell, which figures to be Princeton's toughest Ivy opponent of the season.

Before thinking about the Big Red, the Tigers can't forget about Quinnipiac and Harvard. After all, every coach in America can tell you that no team can be overlooked.