Learning on the job: Hewit gets nod as goalie

As men's lacrosse has slowly piled up losses this season, head coach Bill Tierney has desperately searched for that one change that would turn around the freefall of the team that last year made it to the Final Four. The most recent change has been in front of the goal — Tierney has transferred the starting position to freshman Alex Hewit, the third man to hold the job this year.

Hewit has started in each of the past two games for the Tigers, playing for the duration of their double-overtime win over Penn and starting and playing most of the loss to Rutgers this past weekend. In his 120 minutes of playing time, he has allowed only 13 goals, giving him a goals-against average of 6.47, the lowest of the three goalies on the team. If he had sufficient minutes to be ranked, he would be sixth in the nation. With 16 saves, he boasts a save percentage of .552, also the best on the team.

Having played on three state championship teams in high school at Delbarton, Hewit is unaccustomed to a losing record, let alone being 1-6. He was twice a high school All-American and had started since his sophomore year, but he knew coming in that he couldn't immediately expect to see much playing time at a program of Princeton's caliber.

Given the competition on the team and the fact that most lacrosse programs at any level play only one goalie, that Hewit has played at all is testament to his talent.

Junior Dave Law started every game on last year's Final Four team and was expected to continue in that role this year. Law started the first three games of the season, but playing some of the best teams in the nation proved challenging. Eventually, Law was outplayed and outpracticed by senior and three-year bench warmer Matt Larkin.

Larkin played well in relief for Law, as well as in the two games he started. But the losses kept piling up, and the three goalies were playing almost evenly in practice. Needing a change of pace, Tierney called for Plan C: Hewit.

Against Penn, with only two days of preparation in contrast to the week a goalie would normally have for a new opponent, Hewit allowed just five goals on 35 shots, while making nine saves. Though Penn is not known for its offensive firepower, Hewit impressed his teammates by holding the Quakers to so few goals in such a long game.

His performance in that game earned him the starting job for another week in the away game against cross-state rival Rutgers. Hewit seemed to be justifying Tierney's faith in him through the first half of that game by allowing only one goal in each of the first two quarters. During the second half, however, Hewit collapsed along with the rest of the Princeton team.

The Scarlet Knights scored four times in the third quarter and twice in the fourth, leading Tierney to pull Hewit for the first time in favor of the veteran Law.

Despite these twists and turns as the team struggles to find its footing, Hewit says the relationship among the goalies is always positive, as it is among the entire team. He adds that he certainly would prefer a winning record to all the playing time in the world. He is content with any playing time he is given and claims it is still a tossup who should be in front of the cage every Saturday.

"It's day-by-day, the three of us competing," Hewit said. "Whoever Coach feels is playing the best will play this week. Any time I get, I'm happy with and excited to have."