Men's lax faces Rutgers in first round of NCAAs

No. 6 men's lacrosse (5-1 Ivy League, 9-3 overall) makes its 15th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, as it faces Rutgers in the opening round tomorrow at Class of 1952 Stadium at noon.

Though Princeton shared the Ivy League title with Cornell, its loss to the Big Red meant that the Tigers needed one of the ten at-large bids up for grabs this past Monday. Not to anyone's surprise, Princeton not only made the field, but also was seeded and given home field advantage in the first round.

Rutgers and Princeton faced off earlier this year, on April 10 at '52 Stadium, with the Orange and Black prevailing, 9-7. That win marked the 15th win in a row for Princeton against the Scarlet Knights.

In that game, Rutgers led at halftime, 4-3, before Princeton charged back with its customary strong second half play, scoring five straight goals.

Princeton will be led by senior attack Ryan Boyle, who was named Ivy League Player of the Year on Wednesday. Boyle was also the Player of the Year his sophomore year, becoming the second player in Ivy League history to ever win the award twice.

Also named to the first team All-Ivy were senior defense Ricky Schultz and junior defense Oliver Barry. Junior attack Jason Doneger and senior midfielder Drew Casino were named to the second team.

Additionally, freshman attack Peter Trombino, who has won four Rookie of the Week awards, was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the first Tiger to win the award since Boyle in 2001.

Princeton has won six NCAA tournaments and has an all-time tournament record of 26-8, the best in the country. Even more impressive, the Tigers are 21-0 in tournament play since 1992 against teams other than Syracuse.

Virginia, the winner in 2003, was not offered a bid to the tournament, becoming the first defending champion to not make the field since Cornell in 1972.

With a win over Rutgers tomorrow, Princeton would travel to neutral territory, Virginia, to face the winner of No. 3 Maryland and unseeded Army a week from Saturday. The final four will be held this year at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.