Last year's 5-7 season was highly uncharacteristic of the perennially great men's lacrosse team. This year's squad, too, strives to be different from previous Princeton teams, save one particularly important quality: the Tigers remain fired up about shooting for a national championship in May.
The Tigers (0-0) will field a slightly young but highly talented team against Canisius (0-0) in the first regular-season display of a revamped offense that discards some of the hallmarks of Princeton lacrosse strategy in favor of a more aggressive approach.
For years, the Tigers have slain opponents with a controlled, methodical offense that kept the ball in Princeton sticks until a prime opportunity presented itself. On a typical possession, the Tigers would take the ball downfield and pass around the perimeter of the box several times, increasing the speed each time so as to pull the defense out of position.
In this way, Princeton created the opportunity for a shot or a feed and score. It has been devastatingly effective and has won the Tigers six national championships since 1992.
But things are different this year. After last year's dismal season, head coach Bill Tierney and company have decided to speed things up and make their offense more aggressive.
"I think what's happened in lacrosse is that, in general, the defensive athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster, more talented," Tierney said. "The defenses are becoming more intricate. We found that out the hard way a year ago."
As a result, Princeton will be much more aggressive in attacking the net — attempting to push the pace through transition, dodging hard and cutting fast to get more shots off.
Though the Tigers ran their new offense effectively against Maryland in a scrimmage last week, this weekend provides the first opportunity for Princeton to put it all together in a game that counts.
A non-Hopkins opener
Fortunately for the Tigers, they will face Canisius this Saturday instead of Johns Hopkins, their traditional season opener. A late Ivy League rule change extended the season forward a week, so the Tigers managed to pick up the game against Canisius before what would have been their opener against the Blue Jays.
But that is not to say that the Griffins won't pose a serious challenge for Princeton to come out with a win.
Canisius goalkeeper Tom Kucharzak will look to stonewall the Tigers. He is currently packing a hot .613 save percentage, which could give the Tigers trouble: Princeton had serious shooting problems early last season.
Junior attack Kevin Ross, who has led the Griffins in scoring during both of his seasons, heads up the Canisius offense. He scored multiple points in 11 of his team's 12 games last season.
Like the Tigers, Canisius went 5-7 last year, and, also like Princeton, it will return a more experienced squad for the 2006 campaign.
The Tigers do not have any obvious superstar players this year, somewhat unusual for a program that has seen national standouts like Jesse Hubbard '98, Jon Hess '98, Chris Massey '98, and Ryan Boyle '04. But that does not trouble Tierney a bit because, as he points out, this year's squad is one of the deepest in recent memory.
Junior attack Peter Trombino will command Princeton's vanguard, accompanied by two players out of a trio of fellow attackmen — sophomores Alex Haynie and Bob Schneider, and freshman Tommy Davis.
"Whoever is the odd guy out in the starting game will [still] play a lot and may start the next game," Tierney said of his prospective attackmen.
At midfield, Tierney believes he has eight standout players who will be rotated in and out, including juniors Mike Gaudio, Whitney Hayes, and Scott Sowanick. Sowanick, in particular, will be a key factor in contributing to this year's offense.
The defense in front of starting goaltender sophomore Alex Hewit will be comprised of senior Ryan Schoenig, junior Zach Jungers, and sophomore Dan Cocoziello, who won Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors last year.
Frosh to see playing time
What is amazing about this year's team, though, is that at virtually every position there are freshmen ready to take active roles in games. In a word, Tierney described this year's freshman class — ranked No. 1 nationally by Inside Lacrosse — as "ridiculous."
Tierney named freshmen defenders Chris Peyser and Charlie Kolkin, midfielders Mark Kovler and Josh Lesko, and attack Tommy Davis as the standout rookies this year.
"Those five guys could be five of our 10 starters and we'd be just as good, maybe even better," Tierney said. "But I feel like, early in the year, we have to give the benefit of the doubt to the older, more experienced guys."
In fact, the talented freshmen have been among several players rotating in and out on defense. With the focus on reworking Princeton's offense this past off-season, Tierney admits he's been a bit late in getting the defense together. Still, Tierney says that, over this week and the next, the defense will find a way to work itself out, too.
Even with the loss of Oliver Barry '05 on defense, the Tigers have plenty of talented players to defend with.
Indeed, this year's team is a squad of contenders all around — a good sign if Princeton is to return to contention at the national level in May.
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