Men's lax endures drubbing at hands of Johns Hopkins

During Saturday's men's lacrosse game against Princeton, Johns Hopkins showed just how important momentum can be. The Blue Jays (2-0) used an eight-goal run spanning the third and fourth quarters as the country's top-ranked team handed the Tigers (1-1) a crushing 14-5 loss. The win extended Hopkins' home winning streak to 21.

"We had a very good game plan but we just didn't execute it during the game," freshman attack Peter Trombino explained.

The game began auspiciously for the Tigers, with freshman attack Scott Sowanick opening the scoring at 12:19 on an assist by Trombino. But the Blue Jays quickly took over, outshooting the Tigers 16-4 and closing the first quarter three goals ahead.

Play leveled off in the second quarter as Princeton again went on the offensive thanks to junior attack Jason Doneger's unassisted goal three minutes in. Play continued back and forth with Hopkins scoring two more, bringing the socre to 6-2. In the last minute of the half, the Tigers narrowed the gap to 6-3 on a goal from Trombino off an assist by senior attack Ryan Boyle.

The Tigers wasted no time at the start of the third quarter, as senior midfield Drew Casino scored his fourth goal of the season just 30 seconds into the quarter. With Princeton trailing by just two, the game looked as though it would come down to the wire. But the Blue Jays didn't give the Tigers a chance to ruminate over a comeback as they began pelting the net, answering Casino's goal eight seconds later and following up with two more goals in the next two minutes.

That was the start of the eight-goal runaway freight train headed by Hopkin's Conor Ford. Ford added four goals to the Blue Jays' tally during the streak to which Princeton had no reply.

"They got on a real hot streak," Casino said. "And they won a lot of face-offs. They really put their hole game plan together well and we didn't."

Ford is one of the key players around which the Hopkins offense rests. Matching Ford's play for the Blue Jays was Kyle Harrison who netted four goals and one assist.

With two minutes left to play, Sowanick closed the scoring with one last goal for the Tigers.

So what went wrong? It was undeniable that Hopkins, currently ranked No. 1, was going to be stiff competition for the No. 5 Tigers. However, compared to the Princeton-Hopkins match-up from a year ago in which Princeton lost by a 10-8 margin, Saturday's 14-5 defeat caused some understandable concern among fans.

"We're still a young team, and there is still a lot to do," Casino said. "I think it's a learning experience, but I don't think that it's telling of how the season will progress."

Saturday's game could just be a sign that the Tigers are still having trouble adjusting to the huge player turnover. Although Princeton has talent, it will still need a few games to regain the cohesion and comfort that makes it a top-ranked team.

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"There are really a multitude of reasons [we lost], but I would chalk it up to a lack of discipline, and a lack of experience," Casino said. "We weren't playing with the speed necessary, and when we were making the right decision we weren't playing with the right intensity."

The Tigers will have a week to work on their team dynamics before taking on another tough competitor, Virginia, on Saturday.