Tigers sign three lefty middies

The men's lacrosse team may not have had the season it had hoped for this year, but with the combination of young players already on the roster and a strong incoming recruiting class, Princeton shouldn't take long to return to its usual winning ways.

The Tigers bring in nine talented players in the recruiting class of 2009. The class is led by three left-handed midfielders and a duo of topflight defensemen. Noticeably absent are any goalies or attackmen, but those positions were not priorities as Princeton already has strong freshmen at both goalie and attack.

"Our goal was: we needed left-handed guys, we needed some speed and we needed midfielders; we needed some help at the face off as well. We filled all of those needs and more," head coach Bill Tierney said. "We ended up identifying three left-handed midfielders, hoping to get one, and we ended up getting all three."

Those three lefties are Mark Kovler out of Landon School, Josh Lesko from Deerfield Academy and Tom Davis from Levittown Division Avenue.

Kovler is a fast midfielder that can play on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. He has been on the varsity team at Landon since his freshmen year and was a two-time Free State player. Lesko is an explosive open-field athlete, excelling in the transition game as well as both offense and defense. Davis is the third in the trio of left-handed midfielders. He can play both midfield and attack and was a two-time Long Island Empire State midfielder.

Three right-handed midfielders should add to their stable of young talent. Greg Seaman is a face-off specialist from St. Paul's School in Maryland. The son of Towson head coach Tony Seaman, Seaman should be able to improve the Tigers face-off unit, an area of concern all season for Princeton.

"Between he and Alex Berg and Mike Desantis and Ryan Schoenig, we're going to win more face-offs, that's for sure," Tierney said. "He brings a totally different style. He's a wiry quick guy that can play offense as well and is really going to get the ball for us."

Another incoming Tiger is midfielder Rich Sgalardi from Chaminade High School. Sgalardi is a powerful player with a strong shot that stretches defenses, making them play farther out to respect Sgalardi's shooting ability. He is fast, large and athletic and should be able to contribute on both ends of the field.

Rounding out the midfield class is Brendan Reilly from Landon School. Reilly, the student body president at Landon, is a tough team player with a strong work ethic and aggressive style.

Along with the talented midfielders that will be joining the Tigers next year, arguably the most impressive part of the class of 2009 could be the defensive recruits. Suiting up for Princeton next year will be Chris Peyser from Manhasset School, Charlie Kolkin from Gilman School and Tim Novick from Providence High School in Charlotte, N.C.

"We believe that we got two of the top three defensemen in the country in Chris Peyser out of Manhasset and Charlie Kolkin out of Gilman," Tierney said. "Those two guys are big-time defensemen."

Peyser is the only Tiger recruit who was an All-American as a junior. Peyser is a talented defender that has the ability to cover any team's top attackman and also has the intelligence and understanding to act as the quarterback of a defense.

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Kolkin comes from Gilman, the same school that produced Ryan Boyle '04. A three-year starter at Gilman, Kolkin had a chance to guard some of the best high school players in the country and develop into a talented defenseman.

Novick is the third defensive recruit and the first Princeton recruit ever to come from North Carolina. He is a big, physical player, who was heavily recruited by Division-I football programs, yet chose to play lacrosse in college.

"The combination of Charlie Kolkin, Chris Peyser and Tim Novick, along with our team's current defensive talent, gives us the chance to be very successful at that end of the field for years to come," Tierney said in a press release.

This collection of talented players will join an already youthful Princeton team — seven starters have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining. Together, they'll look not just to get Princeton back to the NCAA Tournament, but back to contending for a national championship.