What does the men's lacrosse team do when playing against some of the best players ever to play at Princeton — including a few fresh off a Major League Lacrosse championship?
They play loose, quite literally.
In the team's annual fall alumni game, the current Tigers defeated former greats by a score of 18-6 in a freewheeling and fun game. Though the game isn't really about competition, head coach Bill Tierney has been pleased with what he's seen from his players all fall, and Friday night was no exception.
"They seem to just play when they're loose." Tierney said.
That's an impressive statement considering the players the Tigers were up against. Returning alumni included Matt Striebel '01 and B. J. Prager '02, who are fresh from winning a major league championship with the Philadelphia Barrage. Chris Massey '98, one of the best attackmen Princeton has ever seen, also made it down for the game.
"They had a bunch of good players, they're just a little older," Tierney joked.
The Tigers jumped out to a 7-0 first quarter lead as their older counterparts had a bit of trouble coordinating their defense. Both teams kept it light, though, with frequent cheers and laughs amidst play. After scoring in the second, senior midfielder Mike Desantis played air guitar — a "gnog" solo, as he called it.
The alumni finally notched a goal in the second, but Princeton kept ratcheting up their offense, passing around the perimeter and making quick, sharp feeds on its way to a 12-1 halftime lead.
The second half proved to be a somewhat closer contest, with the alumni outscoring the Tigers 3-1 in the third quarter.
Not to be deterred, though, senior long-stick midfielder Tommy Firth managed to take the ball coast-to-coast before ripping a shot top shelf for a rare long-pole score. Amidst roars from the sidelines and the crowd, Firth did a cartwheel in front of the sideline. His goal helped shut away the second half for Princeton, not that anyone particularly cared either way.
"I'm just thrilled to see these guys back — it's such a great experience," Tierney said. "These guys were another 30 brothers and they've all been through it on both sides of the game. We're just thrilled for them to come back and be a part of this tonight ... we had fun."
The bigger picture, though, is that the Tigers have had a solid fall. Scrimmages against Navy and Loyola in a tournament at Annapolis last weekend went well, with the Tigers winning both matchups.
"It was a great fall, maybe our best fall ever," Tierney said. "The whole attitude of the thing, the ability of the guys [to stay] focused even when they were having fun [was great]."
After the Tigers' second-round exit from the NCAA tournament last spring, maybe some loose play is all Princeton needs to make it a little further — or even all the way.
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