Tigers take on Orange

Syracuse men's lacrosse is a program with a long history of national dominance. The Orange won the NCAA title as recently as 2004 and 2002 – the 2002 victory came over the Tigers by just a single point. When Princeton travels to Syracuse to face off with the Orange again, there will be less on the line, but both programs are striving to demonstrate they belong on the national scene after an off year for both squads. In 2005 Syracuse lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Massachusetts by a single goal, ending the team's streak of 22 consecutive final four appearances, and the Tigers failed to make the tournament.

The No. 5 Princeton team (5-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) enters this weekend on a three game winning streak after last weekend's Ivy League opening win against Yale. The Tigers will play just their second away game this season against the No. 15 Orange (2-4) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 8.

The Tigers are no strangers to facing previous national champions. They upended the defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins in their second game of the season. Syracuse also faced Johns Hopkins, but the outcome was different as the team suffered a 14-9 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays.

The Orange's Johns Hopkins loss was part of a four-game winless streak that also included losses to top-ranked Virginia and No. 3 Georgetown. Syracuse snapped the streak with a strong 12-6 win over Loyola last Saturday, showcasing a talented midfield and a capable goalie. Just a freshman, Peter Coluccini has started every game for the Orange in goal, and posted a career-high 15 saves against Loyola. He has tallied a .508 save percentage on the season.

After a string of games where the Orange could not reach the 10-goal mark, Syracuse's offense has gelled, exploding with 12 goals to dominate Loyola. The Orange are sixth in the nation in scoring offense with 11 goals per game, despite the dry streak. Attack Mike Levielle, the team's leading scorer on the season, burst out for a four-goal performance against Loyola. Syracuse's freshman midfielders, who were forced into starting positions after injuries to their more experienced teammates, showed they have grown into their roles as Dan Hardy and Pat Perritt scored two goals apiece, moving up to fifth and sixth on the team's scoring chart. Nine of the Orange's 12 goals against the Greyhounds were scored by underclassmen.

The Tigers tallied two wins at the end of spring break, then burst onto the Ivy scene with a 12-8 win over Yale to bring their win streak to three.

The Tigers seem to have overcome some of their offensive woes, as four players have stepped up to dominate the scoring.

Two veterans and two rookies have taken on the majority of the scoring burden. Freshman attack Tommy Davis and midfield Mark Kovler have tallied nine goals apiece and veteran leaders junior attack Peter Trombino and Scott Sowanick have 10 apiece.

Davis scored three goals in the first half alone to help the Tigers jump out to a 7-1 lead over the Bulldogs. Trombino — who also tallied three goals against Yale — leads the team in assists after his three-assist performance against the Bulldogs.

Sophomore goalie Alex Hewit continues to serve as a formidable last line of defense for the Tigers, as he is currently rocking a .679 save percentage — the highest percentage of an active goalie in the entire NCAA. The Cornell goalie Matt McMonagle sits just behind him with a .649 percentage. Hewit is third nationally in goals against average with 5.52 goals scored on him per game.

The defensemen who back him up have also performed admirably, making Princeton one of the hottest defensive teams in the nation. In fact, the Tigers are third nationally in scoring defense and the best team in the nation in man-down defense, stopping opponents 88.5 percent of the time.

If the offense keeps clicking, Princeton should be able to notch another win in its quest to return to the NCAA tournament. Though the team's goal is winning the Ivy League, with the emergence of Cornell and Penn as national powers, capturing an automatic bid through an Ivy League win is far from assured. Wins over top ranked non-Ivy teams will give Princeton an advantage if it has to compete for an at-large bid.