Offensive perfection for men's lacrosse at Cornell

Putting the ball in the back of the net was a problem that had plagued the men's lacrosse team since the beginning of the season. The problem all but disappeared on Saturday.

Princeton (8-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) scored 17 goals, one shy of their season best, on 35 shots in its rout of No. 9 Cornell, 17-9. It was the Tigers' eighth straight win over the Big Red (7-4, 4-1).

"We had not been shooting the ball well," sophomore attackman Jason Doneger said. "We placed more emphasis on it in practice and on Saturday we really shot well."

The Tigers scored on their first six shots and never looked back against the Big Red.

All afternoon, No. 2 Princeton took what Cornell was giving it on offense. Early on, the Big Red were not sliding off the Tigers' attack to cover the midfielders. Therefore, five different midfielders scored Princeton's first five goals.

Seniors Brad Dumont, Will MacColl, Matt Trevenen, Josh White, and Owen Daly added the early offense, and Anthony Perna, the last senior midfielder, added a goal later in the game.

"Once they realized the middies could score, they started sliding," Doneger said.

When Cornell started sliding, Doneger started scoring. He had a career-high seven goals on 12 shots and his scoring spree put the Tigers comfortably in control.

With the score 8-4 in favor of Princeton, Doneger went on a personal scoring run that lasted over eight minutes and included five goals, all on feeds from junior captain and attack Ryan Boyle. Boyle finished the day with seven dishes — six to Doneger — and also added two unassisted goals.

"[Boyle] throws it right where you need it to get off the quick shot," Doneger said.

Doneger was given the opportunity to shine because Cornell put its main emphasis on shutting down senior attack Sean Hartofilis. Hartofilis came in as the leading goalscorer in the nation, and therefore Cornell put senior defenseman Ryan McClay on him. McClay, a three-time first team All-America, is regarded as one of the best defenders in the nation.

"Despite all the attention they paid to [Hartofilis], he still had a goal and an assist," Doneger said.

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Hartofilis was also very unselfish in keeping the ball moving knowing that he had McClay guarding him.

Not only did Princeton work on its scoring, but it also showed more fire than it has showed all season. Princeton played with a sense of urgency for the entire game, something that has been missing up until now.

Unlike last week against Harvard, when Princeton allowed a large halftime lead to shrink, the Tigers came out sharp in the second half against Cornell. Leading 9-4 heading into the break, Princeton scored the first four goals of the second half to take a commanding lead.

"We didn't want them to come out and score first in the second half," Doneger said. "We definitely had a sense of urgency to avoid what happened last week."

On the defensive end, Princeton was very active in causing miscues and disrupting the Big Red attack.

After a rocky first quarter in which the Tigers did not slide much off the Cornell attack, Princeton tightened the defense by adjusting its sliding patterns early in the second.

The Tigers held Cornell to three goals for most of the next three quarters. The Big Red added three goals in the last minute and a half of the game, but the outcome was already decided — a 17-9 win for Princeton.

Junior defenseman Ricky Schultz did not play because of an ankle sprain. He was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Oliver Barry.

Barry was given the exceptionally difficult task of guarding Sean Greenhalgh, who came into the game second in the nation in goals per game. He held Greenhalgh to just one goal in the contest.

With the win, the Tigers all but assured themselves of a place in the NCAA tournament. A victory over Dartmouth next Saturday ensures Princeton of at least a share of the Ivy title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

On Tuesday at Loyola, the Tigers have one more tuneup before next week's game. They should have plenty of confidence heading into that game.

"We made big strides this week," Doneger said. "We finally put together four full quarters of solid lacrosse."