Lax to take on Hoyas in first round

Next weekend, Princeton will host two NCAA tournament quarterfinal matchups. For the men's lacrosse team to fill the home stands with a sea of orange and black, however, it must notch a win on the road this weekend.

On Sunday, No. 6 Princeton (10-3 overall, 5-1 Ivy League) will face No. 4 Georgetown (11-2 overall, 7-0 Eastern College Athletic Conference) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The game will be played at Georgetown's Multi-Purpose Field at noon.

Sunday afternoon's game marks the first time since the tournament expanded to 16 teams that Princeton will play its opening round game away from home. If the Tigers advance, they will face the winner of the game between third-seeded Johns Hopkins and Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on May 19.

Head coach Bill Tierney noted that because of the way the selection process works, he is not surprised that his team is unseeded heading into the tournament.

"A lot of the tournament is based on strength of schedule and RPI, which also factors in the strength of your opponents," Tierney said. "The two great wins we had were against Syracuse and Hofstra, and both of those teams were down a little bit this year. We held out hope that we would have a home game, but I wasn't anticipating it."

Though the Orange and Black will not be playing in front of a home crowd Sunday, it does have history on its side. Princeton is 5-0 all-time against the Hoyas, including a 14-13 victory over Georgetown in the 2002 NCAA quarterfinals.

Last weekend, the Tigers narrowly defeated Brown by a score of 8-7. Senior attack Peter Trombino scored three goals and one assist in the victory. Trombino, senior defense Zach Jungers and senior midfielder Scott Sowanick — the three captains of this year's squad — were recently named first-team All-Ivy League. Sophomore midfielder Mark Kovler was also awarded the honor.

Trombino has proved to be a dominant force on attack all season, racking up a team-leading 28 goals and 11 assists. Sophomore attack Tommy Davis, who has scored at least one point in 19 straight games, has also been a huge factor on offense.

This season, the offense has averaged 9.94 goals per game. Last Saturday against the Bears, however, the offense stalled, only converting eight of its 42 shots into goals.

Though Princeton struggled against Brown, Tierney has faith that his offense can bounce back against Georgetown.

"We are putting our shots on goal, which has been our coaching mantra all year long," Tierney said. "We are getting better at that. So do we want to take 45 shots per game? Absolutely."

Along with a balanced offensive attack, the Tigers bring solid defense to the table. Princeton's defense ranks first nationally, allowing an average of six goals per game. The Tigers owe much of their success to their brilliant netminder, junior Alex Hewit.

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On defense, the All-American Jungers has missed three straight games with a knee injury, but other players have stepped up in his absence. Normally the second longstick midfielder, sophomore Charlie Kolkin, an honorable mention all-Ivy pick, has done an excellent job filling in for Jungers on close defense.

According to Tierney, Jungers is improving daily but will see limited playing time against the Hoyas because he has not practiced for the past three weeks. Princeton will also be without sophomore midfielder Josh Lesko, who is sidelined with a leg injury.

This season, Georgetown went undefeated in the ECAC, earning an automatic bid to the tournament. On paper, the Hoyas and the Tigers look quite similar. The Georgetown offense averages a consistent 9.62 goals per game. On defense this season, the Hoyas have held every opponent except Hobart to under 10 goals.

Georgetown is coached by Dave Urick, who is in his 18th year at the helm. The Hoyas are appearing in their 11th consecutive NCAA tournament.

Princeton's defense will be put to the test against a strong Georgetown attack led by Brendan Cannon, who was recently named the ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and has a team-leading 20 goals and 21 assists.

The Hoya defense also presents a formidable obstacle for the Tigers. Goalie Miles Kass allows 7.71 goals per game, while defender Jerry Lambe has achieved ECAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Tierney expects that the matchup will be a defensive struggle between the two strong squads.

"We've been watching Georgetown film," Tierney said. "Even though they are good in transition, it seems they are much more comfortable in their half-field game. I think it's going to be a low scoring game, maybe 7-6 or even 6-5."

Regardless of how Princeton fares Sunday, there will be lacrosse games at Princeton Stadium next weekend. The Tigers are certainly hoping that they get an opportunity to play on home turf again.