Return of Boyle lifts m. lax over Harvard

Coming into Saturday's game against Harvard (4-6 overall, 1-3 Ivy League), the men's lacrosse team emphasized opening strong and jumping on the Crimson early. Princeton (7-2, 3-0) did not want to rely on another second half comeback.

Ironically, just the opposite happened.

After a dominating first 30 minutes that saw the host Tigers seize a 10-3 halftime edge, Princeton stumbled through the second half against its academic rival before pulling off a sloppy 12-8 win.

"It was bad coaching," head coach Bill Tierney said. "It's a 60 minute game. We were as unselfish as we could be in the first half and about as selfish as we could be in the second."

In the surprise of the day, junior All-America attack Ryan Boyle started the game, coming back earlier than expected from the hamstring injury he suffered two weeks ago.

"It was a game-time decision," Boyle said. "I practiced Thursday and Friday, and it felt pretty good. It's not 100 percent, so I just tried to go out there, not do too much, and move the ball around."

Maybe Boyle should not try to do too much more often.

The Maryland native recorded six assists in the first half, giving him 100 dishes for his career. Boyle joins former Princeton stars Kevin Lowe '94 and Jon Hess '98 as the only three Tigers to pass the century mark. "To be even mentioned with [Lowe] and [Hess] is an honor," Boyle said, "but you try to just keep playing and not focus on that stuff.

"And assists only happen when someone scores. I'm lucky that the guys around me are such great scorers and they're all shooting so well."

The hottest shooter on the team, and perhaps the hottest shooter in the country, is senior attackman Sean Hartofilis. Hartofilis netted three goals on Saturday, bringing his season total to 30. The hat trick also pushed his career total to 115, good for fifth on the all-time list at Princeton. Hartofilis has scored at least three goals in five of his last seven games, and he leads all of Division I for the season.

"I think Sean is the best offensive player in the country right now," Boyle said. "He's really been carrying us."

With Boyle's vision and Hartofilis' cannon shot, they are fast becoming the lacrosse version of the Stockton to Malone connection.

"Sean and Ryan have abilities that really support each other," Tierney said. "They've learned about each other."

"This is our third year together, and I now know where he likes the ball," Boyle added. "It's one thing to just get Sean the ball, but it's another to put the pass in a place where he can shoot right off the bat and in rhythm."

Near perfection

In the first half, it seemed that every pass was caught perfectly in rhythm. The Tigers got 10 goals from five different players on nine assists. The defense looked focused and solid, allowing little breathing room to a Harvard offense that junior defenseman Ricky Schultz had called talented and "explosive."

When the Crimson scored its third goal with 12 seconds remaining in the first half, the home crowd at 1952 Stadium took little notice. The Tigers took a seven-goal edge, and perhaps a case of overconfidence, into the locker room.

In the second half, a different Tiger team donned the uniforms. Gone were the cohesion and passion. Offensive possessions were few and short, and the defense began to fatigue from having to play so much. The Crimson outshot the Tigers, 17-10, in the second half, a huge turnaround from the beginning of the game, when Princeton was able to record six shots on goal before Harvard could even get one.

"We weren't mentally ready going into the second half," Tierney said. "We didn't play poor defense, we just played a lot of defense. And that can be a recipe for disaster."

Princeton failed to score in the third period, and Harvard closed the gap to 10-5. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the Tigers still had not found the back of the net, and the Crimson used two more quick goals to narrow the score to 10-7.

The fourth quarter saw more sloppy play, with errant passes and even simple drops. Finally, with just under five minutes to play in the game, junior midfielder Drew Casino ended the over 25-minute scoring drought, pushing the Princeton lead back to four at 11-7.

The two teams traded goals in the final three minutes and the Tigers wore down the clock during the waning seconds to preserve the 12-8 margin.

Next week, Princeton travels to Ithaca to battle Cornell, a team that is always in the thick of the Ivy League race. The Big Red are the only team other than Princeton in the Ivy League still undefeated in league play, boasting a 4-0 record.

Looking ahead to that game, Tierney mused, "Well, at least we won't be fighting overconfidence after this week."