No. 4 Tigers welcome Canisius

The men's lacrosse team has won 13 of the last 15 Ivy League Championships. It has won six of the last 15 national championships. Clearly the Tigers, who are ranked No. 4 in Division I collegiate lacrosse by Inside Lacrosse, have a name to live up to, and they will begin defending that name this Saturday when they take on Canisius (0-0) at home in their 2007 season opener.

Princeton (0-0) took on the Golden Griffins in last year's season opener as well, a game in which the Tigers handed Canisius a crushing 16-6 defeat to kick off the year. And after losing only three starters to graduation, Princeton will be looking to do the same this year.

Still, the Griffins have proven to be a solid team in the past and shouldn't be underestimated by the Tigers.

"Obviously, we have great respect for Canisius," head coach Bill Tierney said. "Coach Mearns does an amazing job with these guys and we know they will come down to Princeton ready to play. Not having the chance to scout for our first game makes our preparation for this one very complex, in trying to cover everything in a week and not truly knowing what we will see on Saturday."

The Griffins are led by their two captains, goalkeeper Angus Dineley and midfielder Matt Hajek. The two upperclassmen have been an integral part of the Canisius defense and offense, respectively, though last year against the Tigers neither of these two were very effective.

In goal, Dineley has made a name for himself for being both aggressive and stingy. In fact, he holds the program record for fewest goals allowed, averaging 9.35 scores per game over his 26 career games. Still, his overall record is only 7-8, though that may be due to a lacking Canisius offense.

Hajek, who has started since his freshman season, leads the Griffins' offense and takes the faceoffs. Though he typically wins about half of his faceoffs, Hajek has had some breakout games where he really controls the tempo. In a contest last year with Robert Morris, Hajek won a season-high 66.7 percent of his faceoffs.

Perhaps the Griff's most potent offensive threat, however, is senior attack Kevin Ross.

"They have a fabulous leader in Kevin Ross, who is as good as any attackman out there," Tierney said.

Ross was recently named the 2006 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, and he is currently ranked ninth nationally in goals per game and 18th in scoring.

Ross tops the Griff's list in goals, assists and points, but faced by the traditionally ironclad Princeton defense, Ross may be in for a serious setback. In last year's outing, Princeton held him to a single goal.

The Tiger defense allowed a meager 6.56 goals per game last year, and this year's crew is shaping up to be at least as stifling as last year's. Senior Zachary Jungers, a third-team All-American last year, will be a powerful presence, and with the help of other standouts like junior Dan Cocoziello, Princeton looks impenetrable.

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If getting to the goal was not already hard enough, Canisius will have an even harder time slipping one past junior goalkeeper Alex Hewit. He was a first-team All-American last year and boasts a 6.49 goals-allowed average.

The Tigers have no lack of talent on the offensive side, either, with multiple phenomenal players on the attack. Senior attack Peter Trombino, who spearheads the Princeton onslaught, has been a serous threat since his freshman season, scoring at least 20 goals in each of the past three years. Together with junior attack Alex Haynie, Trombino will be hard to stop.

Still, the Tigers aren't taking anything for granted on the offensive end, as they have been working tirelessly in practice.

"As in the past, we are working hard to improve on our shooting," Tierney said. "At this time of the year, you just cannot do too much shooting work."

Judging by the way the Orange and Black looked in its three preseason scrimmages, however, offensive production shouldn't be a problem for the Tigers. Last Sunday, the Tigers handily defeated Towson in five quarters of scrimmage play.

With a team that looks at least equal, if not superior, to last year's squad — a group who made it to the NCAA quarterfinals — this weekend's opener against Canisius could be the start to yet another triumphant year for Princeton lacrosse.