Brown last test for Tigers

For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, men's lacrosse already knows when its season will end. Princeton faces Brown at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday, after which the Tigers will hang up their cleats for the season regardless of the outcome.

Not since 1989 has Princeton (4-7 overall, 3-2 Ivy League) been eliminated from both the Ivy League title race and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Brown (6-5, 2-3) also will end its season in a comparable way. Despite a strong start and a national ranking early in the year, the Bears have struggled of late. Losses to Dartmouth, Cornell and Yale knocked Brown out of the race for the Ivy League title. Though the Bears will finish with at least a .500 overall record, a prerequisite to make the NCAA tournament, they are a long shot to be chosen for an at-large bid.

Princeton faces a Brown team very similar to itself. Both defenses are anchored by able goalies surrounded by tight, aggressive defenses. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears possess six strong players capable of scoring goals — very similar to Princeton's own front six offensive players.

Brown's scoring attack is led by Chazz Woodson. The senior was a second team All-Ivy selection last year and leads the Bears in scoring with 19 goals this season. Woodson is often fed by Kyle Wailes, who leads the Ivy League in assists with 29, 10 more than the next-highest total.

The Tigers have a number of offensive weapons of their own. After a slow start, when he scored only six goals in his first seven games, senior attackman Jason Doneger has heated up to score 12 goals in the past four games.

Princeton is also helped by consistent production from sophomore attackman Peter Trombino. Trombino, who has scored at least one point in every game of his career, is the first player in Princeton history to have at least 20 goals and 10 assists in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

With the talent between the teams nearly even, the game could come down to which team possesses the intangibles it takes to win.

"When you look at the snapshot, I think a lot is going to have to do with the early result, maybe the first quarter of the game, and the mental attitude of both teams coming into it," head coach Bill Tierney said. "The old cliché of who wants it more — I think that's going to have a big effect this week."

Last week, one of the players that wanted it the most for the Tigers was freshman goalie Alex Hewitt. Hewitt made an amazing 16 saves for Princeton, including four in the final four minutes to preserve the 10-8 win over Dartmouth. For his efforts, Hewitt was named both the Ivy League Player and the Rookie of the Week.

All eyes will be on the graduating class during its last game, however. Tierney said that all healthy seniors will play at some point.

One Princeton player that will get his much-deserved chance to shine will be senior attackman and co-captain Matt Prager. Prager will start the first game of his career on Saturday, a justified reward for his hard work.

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"The way Matt Prager has played the past four years, and especially the past few weeks, he deserves this," Tierney said.

Despite a disappointing 2005 season, the seniors suiting up for the last time still have reason to be proud.

"If we win, we get second place in the league," Tierney said. "It's not first, and it's not the championship, and it's not the playoffs. But if you have four times at anything in your life and you come in first three of the times and second one of the times, that's not so bad of a result."