Traditional powers to duke it out

It isn't the oldest, most famous or most important rivalry in college sports, it is the most thrilling one in modern collegiate lacrosse.

When No. 5 Princeton (5-2 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) takes on No. 15 Syracuse (3-4) tomorrow, it will mark the 23rd time the two teams have met. Matchups between the Tigers and Syracuse often come with high stakes: Four of the teams' recent meetings have come in the national championship game. That isn't surprising considering Princeton and the Orange account for 14 of the last 19 national titles.

The rich history is only part of the reason why tomorrow's game is so important for both teams, though probably more so for Princeton.

"We're well into the middle of the season ... [and with] Syracuse and Cornell being the only two ranked teams we have left on our schedule, we're just a little more desperate to get a victory," head coach Bill Tierney said, referring to the importance of having quality wins for seeding in the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse and the Tigers have two very important opponents in common — Virginia and Johns Hopkins. The four teams are perennial powerhouses, and all four teams participated in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Classic at the beginning of March.

Princeton played the Blue Jays in early March and fell 7-6 in a double-overtime loss, while the Orange lost to the Cavaliers 11-8. The next weekend, the Tigers took on Virginia and once again lost 7-6. The following Saturday, Syracuse crossed sticks with Hopkins and took a hard loss, falling 17-9 at home.

The Orange is historically a hard-hitting, aggressive and offensively powerful team. Princeton, on the other hand, is considered to be more defensive and plays at a slightly slower tempo.

The differences are clear when each team's goals allowed per game stat is considered. Princeton's senior goaltender Alex Hewit allows only 5.57 goals per game, the best in Tierney's career. Syracuse has allowed an average of 11 goals per game.

The Orange scores 10.85 goals per game compared to the Tigers' 10.29 goals. Syracuse scores more consistently, however, while the Tigers have had peaks and valleys throughout the season.

"We are hoping that the team that scored 17, 17 and 15 shows up and not the one that scored 5, 5, 6 and 6," Tierney said. "We're worried because of our offensive output, and we know how good a team Syracuse is and it's going to be a tough game. We've got to score some goals."

While Princeton's greatest asset is its stellar defense, anchored by Hewit, who has the second best career goals against in NCAA history, Syracuse boasts a large contingent of offensive talent. The Orange's strength is its firepower, so Princeton will have to increase its offensive effort if it wants the win.

The Tigers will rely on sophomore attack Tommy Davis, senior midfielder Scott Sowanick and sophomore midfielder Mark Kovler to put up two or three points each in the match.

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"You'd like to think that your top guys, certainly your top attackmen, should be getting two or three a week with all the opportunities they get," Tierney said. "But it hasn't been working out quite that way this year, so we're hoping somebody can explode."

It might be Davis. The sophomore has shown his teammates that they can count on him to put up at least one point per game, as he has now gone 13 straight games with at least one point for the Tigers. Kovler failed to score against Yale last weekend, but if Princeton wants to add another loss to the Orange's record, he will need to put the ball in the back of the net a few times.

Princeton is 1-7 against Syracuse at Class of 1952 Stadium, so perhaps the move across Washington Road to Princeton Stadium will change the Tigers' luck tomorrow. The game will begin at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast live by WPRB and ESPNU.