After drought, Tigers look to make it rain

Is this the beginning of the restoration of King Tierney?

The men's lacrosse team has returned virtually all of its key players from last season. The perennially strong team scored 18 goals against Canisius last weekend, more than it tallied against any opponent last season. After seeing powerhouses Syracuse, Virginia and Johns Hopkins fall to second-tier or worse teams, the Tigers have assumed the No. 1 ranking this week. And head coach Bill Tierney says this past fall was the best one he's seen since he came to Princeton in 1988.

That observation is especially important because no one knows lacrosse like Tierney. He created a dynasty out of the lacrosse backwater that was Princeton in the 1990s, leading the team to six national championships between 1992 and 2001.

After six years, it might be time for Princeton to ascend the throne again. The stars seem to be coming into alignment.

One thing the Tigers have lacked over the past several seasons is a standout player with the ability to make momentum-changing plays. But this year's squad has more than a few players with the capability to take on that role.

Junior goaltender Alex Hewit is frighteningly good in the cage; he had 20 saves last year against Virginia, a team that would go on to win the national title. Also on defense, senior long-stick midfielder John Bennett has the power to turn the tide of a game when he comes ready to play, as he showed when marking Paul Rabil in last year's defeat of Hopkins. More than one coach has acknowledged that fact.

On offense, it appears that senior midfielder Scott Sowanick may become Princeton's offensive leader. It's not just that he can score, but that he knows who the shooters are on his team, as Tierney has put it.

Moreover, he appears highly capable of stepping into the feeder role that Princeton has lacked since the days of Ryan Boyle '04. Sowanick had several great feeds Saturday, including a thread-the-needle assist through traffic to senior attack Peter Trombino, right on the crease in the keeper's face. His numbers belied the sheer amount of offense he created through his off-ball play.

One reason Sowanick could work out so well for this season's team is the amazing depth the Tigers have on offense. Simply put, if he can create offense, he'll have a lot to work with.

Princeton doesn't have a clear offensive standout in terms of goalscoring ability, but it can field multiple combinations of six players who are all threats to score, which will pose quite a problem for opponents deciding who to put their short-stick defenders on.

In particular, the team's attack squad is deep. Trombino, junior Alex Haynie and sophomore Tommy Davis started last weekend; the first two had hat tricks while Davis added two scores. It wasn't just the numbers, though; it was the way they flowed around the field. Haynie stuck in behind-the-back shots with ease; Davis and Trombino rained down shots from all over the field.

Moreover, freshman attack Rob Engelke had a hat trick, and junior Bob Schneider — who stands at an intimidating six feet, three inches and 225 pounds — also contributed. Between these and other players, the Tigers should be able to find some combination recalling the days when Jesse Hubbard '98, Jon Hess '98 and Chris Massey '98 terrorized opposing defenses en route to the 1996, 1997 and 1998 titles.

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Speaking of defenses, it doesn't seem likely that the Tigers will have problems with theirs. Junior standout Dan Cocoziello, senior Zach Jungers and sophomore Chris Peyser will play in front of Hewit; this lineup is just as good as, if not better than, last year's squad that held opponents to an average of only 6.56 goals per game.

Hold off on the coronation, though. Just because the previous top-three teams all lost games they should have won doesn't mean the road to the title is clear for the Tigers.

The first real test cometh. For certain, the Blue Jays will have had a hard week of practice and will come ready to play this Saturday. The game will be played at the Ravens' home in Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium, which is also where the Final Four will be held come Memorial Day weekend.

Interesting, eh? Perhaps the Tigers want to take an early look at the throne.