M. lax looks to extend winning streak to seven against Harvard

In 1969, "Broadway" Joe Namath led his underdog Jets to a most improbable Super Bowl victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. In 1990, Buster Douglass pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history when he knocked out Kid Dynamite, Mike Tyson.

Time and again, athletes and teams have shown that sports are not played on paper; they are played on the field, the court and in the ring. The favorite doesn't always win, and that's why you play the game.

Tomorrow, the men's lacrosse team will have to take its on-paper advantage and turn it into on-field success when it hosts Harvard at 1 p.m. in Class of 1952 Stadium.

The Tigers (6-2 overall, 2-0 Ivy League), after losing their first two games of the year, are riding a six-game winning streak heading into the contest.

The Crimson (4-5, 1-2), meanwhile, are coming off a big 12-6 win over conference foe Brown. Interestingly, though, Harvard has been unable to gather any momentum, as it has failed to win back-to-back games this season. Princeton will undoubtedly focus on keeping that streak of futility alive and well.

For the second straight game, however, the Tigers will be without junior All-American attack Ryan Boyle. Boyle injured himself in Princeton's game against Penn two weeks ago.

In the team's first game without him, Boyle was not missed as the Tigers overpowered Quinnipiac, 14-3. But other players will have to continue to step up in Boyle's absence.

"Without Ryan, I don't think our mindset really changes," junior defender Ricky Schultz said. "We certainly miss his ability, but we have other players on offense that can carry the load."

The load to bear is heavy, however, as Boyle leads Division I men's lacrosse in scoring and assists. Princeton will therefore look for continued strong play from senior attack Sean Hartofilis. Hartofilis has scored 27 goals in just eight games, and has scored four or more goals in four of the team's last six games.

Stingy

On the defensive end, the team has been stingy, to say the least, holding opponents to 10 goals or less in all eight games this season. Over the last four games, Princeton has held opponents to an average of just 5.5 goals per game.

Much of this defensive dominance can be attributed to the recent play of senior netminder Julian Gould. Gould's save percentage has risen over the last few weeks, and his confidence has grown with it.

"Julian has been making some big saves when we need them," Schultz said. "And [senior defender] Damien [Davis] and [senior defender] Brian [Lieberman] have been shutting down their opponents game after game as well."

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But despite coming in as the heavy favorite, the Tigers will have to be wary not to underestimate their opponent. The team has a propensity to lose focus at times, particularly against weaker competition.

Earlier in the season, coming off a thrilling 11-10 win over Syracuse, Princeton traveled to Rutgers and came out slow and flat. The squad trailed 3-0 late in the first quarter before getting on the board and eventually rallying to win, 10-8.

Though Rutgers, according to the national rankings, is a far better team than Harvard, the Crimson has several explosive players, particularly on offense.

Leading the way for Harvard is senior attack Matt Primm. Primm leads the team in goals with 15 and points with 23. Joining him on the front line is junior Anders Johnson. Johnson leads the team in assists with nine, and his 10 goals put him second on the team behind Primm for points.

The Crimson also gets offensive help from the midfield. Senior Doug Logigian has started every game and has totaled nine goals and three assists on the year.

"Just in watching film, they have an explosive offense, a solid defense and a very good goalie," Schultz said. "They play three excellent attackmen and four or five very good middies as well so there certainly is a lot of talent there."

After the Harvard game, Princeton next travels to Cornell to take on the Big Red a week from tomorrow.