Cornell comes calling as men's lacrosse looks to keep rolling

Newman's Day will have to wait for men's lacrosse on Saturday as the team goes for its fifth consecutive win, and a guarantee of at least a share of the Ivy League title, when it hosts No. 11 Cornell (6-3 overall, 3-1 Ivy League) at Class of 1952 Stadium.

No. 5 Princeton (7-2, 3-0) is coming off a 13-4 rout of unranked Harvard that came in the Crimson's own backyard at Jordan Field. That win was highlighted by the play of the Tigers' freshmen, notably attack Peter Trombino, whose two goals and two assists helped earn him Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season. Fellow freshman attack Scott Sowanick also excelled, scoring three goals.

Princeton's next opponent, Cornell, has had a season of close games and harsh ups and downs so far. Each of its past four contests has been decided by either one or two goals. Most recently, the Big Red snuck by No. 20 Dartmouth last weekend on a game-winning goal by attack Sean Greenhalgh with four seconds left that gave them a 12-11 victory.

As is the case with most of Princeton's Ivy League opponents, recent history is in favor of the Tigers. Princeton has won each of its past eight meetings wiwth Cornell, including a 17-9 walloping last year.

This year may not be so easy, however, as the Big Red have shown themselves to be a talented squad, albeit one that lacks the ability to win by large margins.

"It will be a tough game, as it always is against Cornell, and it's a pretty fierce rivalry," head coach Bill Tierney said. "They only have one loss this year in league play, so they have to win this game to have a chance to win the title."

Princeton remains the only unbeaten Ivy team, and defeating Cornell this week would put them one game away from regaining sole possession of the league title.

The play of Cornell in the past month is even more impressive than statistics can show, given that the players' lives took a tragic turn earlier this year when defenseman and co-captain George Boiardi passed away after being struck in the chest by a ball during a game against Binghamton. Despite this, they have kept playing, honoring the memory of their fallen teammate.

Cornell's offense is led by pre-season All-American attack Andrew Collins, who has 29 points on the year, including a goal and two assists in last week's game.

Collins' play is in some ways reminiscent of that of Princeton senior attack Ryan Boyle. Last year as juniors, the two shared first place in the nation in points scored per game, each averaging 4.54, and Collins was second only to Boyle among the national leaders in assists.

Anchored by Collins and Greenhalgh, Cornell possesses one of the strongest and deepest offenses in the collegiate game, and keeping them under control will likely be Princeton's hardest task on Saturday.

"We won't go in with a set strategy, but we'll try to feel out how we are in the game," Tierney said. "The key for us has been our ability to make adjustments."

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Each game, as those adjustments have been made, the team has relied on strong senior leadership and young talent stepping up to fill new roles. Against Cornell, Princeton will need both, as its flexibility and free-form game could conversely prove to be its downfall.

"With such a young team, you just never know," Tierney said. "Last week we exploded unexpectedly against Harvard, but it can go the other way. We just have to maintain our course."

Saturday's game against Cornell will be Princeton's last regular-season home game of the year. Besides the Big Red and the Tigers, Dartmouth, which was co-champion of the Ivy League with Cornell and Princeton last year, is the only other team truly left in the hunt, also with just one loss. The Big Green hosts Princeton on May 1.