Princeton hosts Brown to finish regular season

With one game left in the regular season, the men's lacrosse team has its sights set on one thing: an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. On Saturday at 1 p.m., No. 6 Princeton (9-3 overall, 4-1 Ivy League) will attempt to get one step closer to its goal, facing off against Brown (7-6, 1-4) at Class of 1952 Stadium.

The Tigers are in good position to earn a tournament bid, and a win against the Bears would certainly help their cause. Unfortunately for Princeton, the team will be playing its second-straight game without senior defender Zach Jungers. The All American suffered a knee injury in the game against Harvard two weeks ago.

Though Jungers is improving, head coach Bill Tierney wants to ensure that Jungers makes a full recovery before letting him play.

"Even if he were healthy, he hasn't practiced for two weeks now," Tierney said. "For his own health and for all concerned, it's a wiser decision that we wait a few extra days."

In the 13-6 win over Dartmouth last weekend, sophomore Charlie Kolkin — who normally plays longstick midfielder — moved to shortsick to replace Jungers. Senior Tommy Firth replaced Kolkin at the longstick middie spot.

"The beauty of this team is that we always play great defense," Tierney said. "We are playing pretty well right now, and we are confident in our abilities. We feel we have the best goalie in the country. As for Charlie, he did a great job last week and he's [going] to do fine."

The Tigers' nation-leading 5.87 goals allowed per game is the second best under Tierney in his 19 years as head coach — the 2001 team allowed 5.80 goals per game en route to an NCAA championship. This season, the stingy defense — anchored by standout junior goalie Alex Hewit — has been complemented by a balanced offensive attack. At the helm is senior attack Peter Trombino.

After racking up three goals and two assists in the victory over the Big Green, Trombino became the only player in the history of Princeton lacrosse to notch at least 20 goals and 10 assists in all four seasons as a Tiger. Sophomore attack Tommy Davis has also been a big part of Princeton's offense this season, scoring at least a point in each of his last 18 games.

All eyes will be on Bear goalie Jordan Burke — who has an 8.16 goals-against average this season — to halt Princeton's offense.

Brown is coming off a tough 11-8 loss to No. 1 Cornell, who captured the Ivy League title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with the victory. After that defeat, Brown will be looking to close its season on an up note.

Brown's offense is led by attack David Madeira, who leads the team in scoring with 24 goals and four assists. Against the Big Red, Madeira notched two goals and one assist against All American goalie Matt McMonagle.

Tierney is confident his team knows what is at stake. His players have already proven that they can respond well under pressure.

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"It would be a shame for them not to enjoy their final game at home and play poorly," Tierney said. "We've been in a playoff format since the loss to Virginia, and we've responded pretty well. We are 8-1 since the Virginia game. I'd say that's a really good response from the guys."