In 'rebuilding year,' men's lacrosse goes to Final Four

For men's lacrosse (11-4 overall, 5-1 Ivy League), 2004 was a rebuilding year. When the season started, only four players on the team had ever started a game, and the freshman class was the biggest in years. Fortunately for Princeton fans, a "rebuilding" year for the dominant Tigers — who have built a lacrosse dynasty under head coach Bill Tierney — only meant that they fell just short of a national title.

Led by attack Ryan Boyle '04, sixth-seeded Princeton upset No. 3 Maryland in the NCAA quarterfinals in overtime before narrowly falling to No. 2 Navy, 8-7, in the semifinals in front of approximately 45,000 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.

With the pressure on late in the Maryland game and with the Tigers down by two with less than two minutes to play, Boyle showed why he will be considered one of the greatest to ever wear the Orange and Black. He scored two eye-catching unassisted goals, the second goal coming with only 12 seconds remaining, to push the game into overtime, where he fed standout attack Peter Trombino '07 for the game-winning goal.

The Navy game would also be decided by a single goal, but not in the Tigers' favor. The determined Midshipmen controlled possession throughout the game, winning 15 of 19 faceoffs, and picking up 43 ground balls to Princeton's paltry 27. Despite several valiant attempts late in the game by Princeton, including a shot by Trombino with seven seconds remaining on the clock, Navy managed to prevent a second miracle, and ended the Tigers' season one game shy of the championship game.

Early in the year, it appeared that Princeton would be lucky just to garner a spot in the tournament, let alone reach the Final Four. The Tigers struggled defensively in their opening games and were beaten handily by Johns Hopkins in the second game of the year, 14-5.

But under the strong leadership of Boyle and Tierney's brilliant instruction and decision-making, Princeton went on to win six of its next seven games, including a confidence-building road win over defending national champion Virginia. Returning to campus for five consecutive home games, the Tigers earned a solid win against Hofstra before taking on eventual national champion Syracuse.

In that game, before a record-breaking crowd of 6,186 at Class of 1952 Stadium, Princeton got off to a good start, opening up a 7-2 lead in the first half. But the Tigers eventually fell, 14-12, to the offensive dominance of the Orangemen, led by Michael Powell, dropping their record to 3-2. That loss, along with another heartbreaker to Cornell later in the season, strengthened the resolve of the young team. The team showed its backbone in close come-from-behind victories over Yale and Rutgers later in the season, as well as the gritty performances in the NCAA tournament.

By the end of league play, the Tigers had put together a 5-1 Ivy league record. This tied them with Cornell for the Ivy League championship, giving Princeton at least a share of the title for the 10th consecutive year.

With the season over after the loss to Navy, the Tigers were far from idle. The team promptly went about making headlines all over the world, eager to improve on this year's showing. In June the Tigers spent a week in Japan, honing their game against international competition, including the Japanese national team.

Also in June, Boyle was picked second overall in the Major League Lacrosse draft by the Rochester Rattlers. After being traded to the Philadelphia Barrage, with the help of former teammates B.J. Prager '02 and Matt Striebel '01, Boyle played an important role in the team's MLL Championship victory. In addition to that hardware, Boyle also took home the Rookie of the Year award for himself after finishing second in the league in assists, despite missing the first third of the season while playing for Princeton.