Young Tigers struggle to adapt to life after Boyle

Johns Hopkins, Virginia, Syracuse — three of the best teams in all of college men's lacrosse. Princeton lost to all of them this spring, but that alone was no reason to panic. When the Tigers also dropped games against mediocre Hofstra and Yale squads, however, it became obvious that Princeton wasn't its usual dominant self.

And indeed, when all was said and done, the Tigers (5-7 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) would turn in their worst season in over a decade, failing to win even a share of the Ivy League Championship for the first time in 11 years and missing out on the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16.

After the loss to the Elis, Princeton stood at 0-5 for the first time in two decades — without a win or even, seemingly, the confidence to get one. Indeed, without All-American attack Ryan Boyle '04, who had masterfully directed the Tigers' offense for four years, Princeton looked lost all too often.

An offense composed almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores looked to senior attack Jason Doneger for leadership. In years past, Doneger had frequently found himself on the receiving end of Boyle's pinpoint feeds, but now was asked to take over some of Boyle's off-ball responsibilities. Meanwhile, opposing defenses geared their efforts toward stopping Doneger — an honor previously bestowed upon Boyle.

Fittingly, it was when Doneger finally broke through his personal slump that the Tigers broke through theirs. After not scoring a goal in more than 300 minutes of play, Doneger buried a shot in the back of the net to beat Penn in double overtime, 6-5, for the Princeton's first win.

Searching for another win, the Tigers traveled upstate to Piscataway on April 9 to face Rutgers, a team they had defeated for 16 consecutive years. The Scarlet Knights, though, showed Princeton just how hard it is to be perfect for that long. With Princeton plagued by the same weak facing off that had hurt it all season, Rutgers broke open a 2-2 tie with five third quarter goals en route to an 8-5 victory.

"Guys just aren't on the same page, guys aren't playing to their strengths, and guys are trying to do things they can't do out of desperation because we need to score goals," Doneger said after the loss, his words echoing the seemingly hopeless state of Princeton's offense.

If that loss was the lowest point of the Tigers' season, it was also the defeat that likely haunted them most at the end of the season. If Princeton had defeated Rutgers, they would have ended the season 6-6 — .500 — eligible for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Though it was too late for Princeton to save its season, Doneger found his footing in the next weekend, when Princeton crushed Harvard and Butler. His nine-goal weekend put his total to 101 during his time at Princeton.

But the Tigers simply weren't prepared for a far superior Cornell team the next weekend, dropping a must-win game in a 17-4 blowout. After Cornell went up 4-0 in the first five minutes, 12 seconds of play, the Tigers simply couldn't respond.

Head coach Bill Tierney's post-game predictions would be telling for the end of the season.

"We feel like this young team that's gone through the experiences they have ... are going to bounce back from this very quickly," Tierney said.

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Indeed, in the final two games of the season, Princeton turned in two of its best performances despite knowing it would not reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 years.

Led by freshman goalie Alex Hewit, who recorded 16 saves out of 24 shots on goal, the Tigers defeated Dartmouth by a score of 10-8 at Class of 1952 Stadium on April 30. The first half was relatively close, with the Tigers up at the half, 5-3. But sophomore attack Peter Trombino's goal led to a cascade of Princeton scores by sophomore midfielder Mike Gaudio and an acrobatic goal off a rebound by Doneger that helped seal the game.

It was a satisfying win for the Tigers, who had seen their hard work go largely unrewarded. Tierney said he had been awed by the intensity of the previous week's practice, even after the loss to Cornell, noting that the high energy of the players had resulted in more hitting than he'd seen in years.

That same momentum carried through to the season finale against Brown. Princeton thumped the Bears, 13-4, playing many seniors — three of whom scored their first career goals. Moreover, Princeton's youth played well, too, with nine goals coming out of the sticks of freshmen or sophomores.

"It's bittersweet in a way," Tierney said, "because you go, 'God, what could we be, let's keep playing,' but on the other hand, it's a fitting moment for a nice team that did an amazing job out here today."

Most of the Tigers will indeed get to keep playing — next year. The vast majority of the team's offense — Trombino, sophomore attack Scott Sowanick, Hayes and Gaudio included — will return, as will starting freshman defender Dan Cocoziello and Hewit on the defensive end of the field. And while no one envisioned the season going as badly as it did, the Tigers' eventual improvement suggest that this season will one day be regarded as an odd aberration, not the beginning of a trend.