As the Princeton men's lacrosse team opened it's 2004 season Saturday afternoon against Quinnipiac, media attention was divided squarely between the debut of a 14-member freshman class and the fortunes of the Tigers' two preseason All-Americans.
But it was senior midfielder Drew Casino who took the team on his shoulders in the game's pivotal moments. With the heavily-favored Tigers trailing 4-3 in the middle of the second quarter, Casino's two goals in twenty seconds gave Princeton the lead back, and momentum swung sharply in the Tigers' favor as they rolled to a 19-10 victory over the Bobcats.
Casino's play was a bright spot for the Tigers, who entered the season with only a handful of players who had ever started a game at the college level. Casino ended the day with a career-high four points on three goals and one assist.
Playing a key role in Saturday's game was not an unusual feeling for Casino — the senior had logged significant minutes already in his career as Princeton's face-off specialist. It was, however, Casino's first opportunity to line up as one of the team's starting midfielders and take on a primary offensive role.
"We came out a little flat," Casino said. "We knew [Quinnipiac] had some scrappy kids and would be a strong team."
Tension continued to mount as the Bobcats scored the first goal of the second quarter, giving them their first lead of the game at 3-2. Play became increasingly physical and several no-calls led ultimately to an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on the Princeton bench. When Quinnipiac converted on the subsequent one-man advantage, the Tigers found themselves down 4-2 with less than twelve minutes remaining in the half.
After Princeton netted a quick goal to close the gap, Casino took the ensuing face-off and stormed down the field, taking it to the cage himself and rifling a shot past Quinnipiac keeper Joe Prota to tie the game.
Less than twenty seconds later, senior attackman Ryan Boyle found Casino, this time on an extra-man opportunity, and Casino's second goal gave Princeton a 5-4 lead.
"It has been a transition for me to play a lot more offense," Casino said. "My first priority was to face off and maintain possession for the team." Casino's offensive outburst complemented his reliable dominance on face-offs. For the afternoon, Casino won 84 percent of the draws.
Aside from Casino's heroics, Princeton found help from two expected sources: Boyle and junior attack Jason Doneger. Boyle tallied seven points on two goals and five assists, and Doneger wound up with six goals and an assist. Four of Doneger's goals came in less than two minutes during the second quarter, including one on a jaw-dropping fake that left Prota frozen on the line and excited an appreciative roar from the crowd.
Production from the team's upperclassmen helped solidify a rotation that features plenty of youth. Freshmen attack Peter Trombino and defenseman Zachary Jungers started their first game in Tiger uniforms.
Princeton's 19-goal explosion was its highest total since 2001, and head coach Bill Tierney took advantage of the comfortable lead. Every available Tiger saw playing time, and freshmen attack Trombino, Scott Sowanick, and Whitney Hayes and midfielders Michael Biles and Mike Gaudio all scored in their collegiate debut.
The Tigers' schedule gets tough for the next two weekends, as Princeton takes to the road to face Johns Hopkins and then Virginia. Hopkins, however, has already shown signs of weakness, squeaking out a 10-9 victory over unranked Penn this weekend.
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