Sophomores to be pivotal this season

It's rare to see a group of young players who can have a tremendous impact on a team — much less for three of them to rack up 44 goals in a season.

Needless to say, the Class of 2009 last year was an integral part of the men's lacrosse team.

This year's sophomore class of the men's lacrosse team, known for their remarkable skill as the top recruiting class in the country, includes players who are slated to be at the core of the Tigers' game.

The nine members of the class of '09 describe themselves as close and cohesive both on and off the playing field. On the field, however, they are better defined by the large role they are expected to play this season.

"Tommy Davis [is] at attack — he'll be starting at attack for the second year in a row," head coach Bill Tierney said. "[Mark] Kovler and [Josh] Lesko will be on our first midfield, Brendan Reilly will be on our first group of defensive midfielders. Greg Seaman will be taking face offs. Chris Peyser is going to start on defense, so you've got a significant number of guys in that class that are going to have important roles to play."

Both coach and players are comfortable with that responsibility. The Tiger sophomores took on the challenge every varsity athlete faces his rookie season: playing at the collegiate level.

Kovler and Davis both noted the transition as their greatest struggle of the '06 season. Both saw significant playing time last season and can expect more of the same as the spring wears on.

"Last year, we had a predominantly junior and freshman team" Tierney said. "When you have a freshman class that is so dominant like that, you have to play them and you are also going to go through growing pains. [There is] pressure on young players, with the angst of playing in a game as opposed to practice."

The team has gotten a year older, however, hopefully moving past rookie mistakes and a slow pace of play. Tierney can now utilize players in a way he couldn't last season due to inexperience.

"Now, [the sophomores] have a year of experience, playing with a senior class that is pretty experienced as well," Tierney said. "We like that combination of that youthful exuberance still with the sophomores, but also playing with some older guys that can keep them under wraps a little bit."

As Princeton is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, Tierney clearly isn't the only person who thinks that way.

The opinions are backed by facts as well. Davis, who missed the last six games of the regular season last year, scored 15 times and garnered the highest shooting percentage on the team for those with more than three goals. Kovler ranked third in scoring on the team last year, netting 18 goals and eight assists on the season. He was honored this year with a pre-season honorable mention All-America commendation from Inside Lacrosse, the sport's premier magazine. Also receiving an honorable mention from Inside Lacrosse was Lesko, who scored 11 times last season and assisted on six more.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

The sophomores will tell you, however, to give more of the credit to the older, more experienced members of the team.

"Our class probably gets more press than we should, than we deserve, just because we fit into the system created by the older guys that are the better players," Kovler said.

That said, Tierney is wielding an experienced sophomore class like an expert fencer might handle a sword.

"They have a maturity [level], no question," Tierney said. "My rule is I try not to get too crazy with the freshmen because they are already fragile. Last year especially. We were coming off our worst season in 20 years. [There is] a lot of pressure on them. A lot of nervousness. They stood back until they got confident. The difference between freshman and sophomore year is phenomenal."

The group will face a true test this weekend when the team travels to take on Johns Hopkins Saturday. And if they're to be as influential this year as they were the last time around, this year's sophomores will have to come up big against the Blue Jays.