Men's lacrosse battles No. 1 Johns Hopkins in first big test

The men's lacrosse team has its first challenge of the year this weekend as it travels to Baltimore to face the top-ranked team in the nation, Johns Hopkins (1-0), on Saturday.

In only the second game of its season, No. 5 Princeton (1-0) renews an old lacrosse rivalry between two of the most dominant teams in the sport.

Princeton has had an offseason of intensive training, which included acclimating an exceptionally large class of 14 freshmen. This weekend promises to give the team a chance to measure how well they've trained.

Last weekend the Tigers rolled over Quinnipiac, 19-10. In that game, 11 different players scored for Princeton, led by junior attackman Jason Doneger with six goals.

Head coach Bill Tierney managed to play almost the entire team against Quinnipiac and started three freshmen, as the relatively easy competition allowed the Tigers a chance to get used to being on the field with each other before facing more difficult opponents.

Hopkins wasn't so lucky last week, as the Blue Jays only managed to edge their unranked opponent, Penn, by one goal, 10-9. This inauspicious start should give the Tigers confidence against a team that enters the regular season ranked No. 1.

The Tigers certainly need confidence, as the team is the youngest Princeton has fielded in years. Co-captains Doneger and senior attackman Ryan Boyle provide a measure of experience to the team, but losing 13 players to graduation, five of them All-Americans, is sure to leave a mark.

Hopkins, on the other hand, has only eight freshmen. The team has also managed to carry the No. 1 ranking over from last year, when it ended the regular season on top before falling in the NCAA Championship game to Virginia.

The Blue Jays' win over Penn last weekend extended their three season-long home winning streak to 20 games, a streak that the Tigers hope to break with a win Saturday.

The Princeton-Hopkins game has become somewhat of an early-season institution, as the two have met in their opening match every season since 1989. This year, the Tigers and Blue Jays each got a quick warm-up before continuing the tradition, but it is a tradition that has worked out well for the boys from New Jersey in the past.

Princeton has managed to win 11 of the past 16 times the two teams have lined up against each other.

One of the keys to the game will be the lesser-known players stepping up to complement the more celebrated ones. This happened last week when senior midfielder Drew Casino gave the team a much-needed boost.

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Casino has seen playing time in the past, primarily taking face-offs for the Tigers, but, given the chance to start against Quinnipiac, he exploded for three goals and one assist, playing especially well in high-pressure situations.

With two teams as talented as Hopkins and Princeton, anything can happen. As long as the Tigers play cohesively and consistently, there's no reason to think that they will not be able to knock off the Blue Jays, No. 1 ranking or not.