Men's Lacrosse: Tigers look to stay atop Ivies

No. 5 Princeton (8-2 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) has struggled offensively in its last three games — a serious problem for a team that has depended on a high-powered attack unit to overwhelm its opponents. Early in the season, the Tigers were able to create goals easily and often. Senior midfielder Scott Mackenzie, freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuk and junior attackmen Jack and Chris McBride had an explosive chemistry that gave Princeton the confidence that it would be able to consistently outscore its opponents.

Recently, though, the Tigers’ front line has slowed down. Against Syracuse, Princeton’s offense was unable to play with the same creativity and fluidity that had been its hallmark earlier in the season. The result was a night of lackluster offensive play that led to one of the Tigers’ largest losses in years. While Princeton managed to score in the double digits in its most recent game against Rutgers, its offensive play was inconsistent at best: The Tigers only scored two goals in the first half and were forced to go on a major, eight-goal run in the remainder of the game to pull out the win.

Princeton will need to rediscover its offensive firepower if it hopes to come away with a victory against Dartmouth (3-5, 1-2). Key to this effort will be tough play from Chanenchuk, the McBride cousins and freshman midfielder Jeff Froccaro. Chanenchuk, a two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, is the fastest freshman to score 10 collegiate goals, and he will become only the sixth Princeton freshman to score 20 goals in a season if he can find the back of the net against Dartmouth. For his part, Froccaro — who, like Chanenchuk, has won Rookie of the Week honors twice this season — has scored 12 goals on the season, 11 of which came in the second half or overtime.

These four players have been the most consistent in the Tigers’ previous three games, sparking the team’s offensive runs and helping to maintain the front line’s energy. Another strong game from the quartet would bode well for Princeton’s chances against the Big Green.

“Our offense hasn’t been doing so well of late,” Froccaro said. “We had a good few days of practice, though, and we’re hoping that we click a little bit better against Dartmouth.”

The Tigers will also need to improve their faceoff play if they hope to have a clean and decisive victory. Princeton won only 50 percent of its faceoffs against Rutgers and 44 percent of those against Syracuse. If the team can improve those numbers, the Orange and Black will have many more chances to create goal-scoring opportunities. The Tigers will look primarily to Froccaro and sophomore midfielder Peter Smyth to handle faceoff duty against Dartmouth. The two have combined to win 19 of 40 faceoffs in Princeton’s last two games.

“Faceoffs and extra-man opportunities are going to be really important to us,” Froccaro said. “We’ve got to start scoring on our man-ups and we have to do a little better on our face-offs. We had some trouble with that in the first half against Rutgers and started to pick things up in the second half, but we can still do better.”

The rivalry between Princeton and Dartmouth is a long one, dating back to 1953. The Tigers currently lead the series 49-8 overall and 28-1 at home, making Dartmouth’s upcoming task of defeating Princeton a daunting one.

The Big Green will look to its strongest and most consistent player, goalie Fergus Campbell, to carry them in Saturday’s game. Campbell boasts a .620 save percentage — almost .100 percentage points greater than sophomore goalie Tyler Fiorito’s overall .539 percentage. While Fiorito’s numbers may seem low, he has accumulated a .645 save percentage since sophomore defenseman Chad Wiedmaier’s return four games ago, and he is currently playing steadily and consistently.

Fiorito and the rest of Princeton’s back line hope to continue their solid play against Dartmouth and hold the Big Green to fewer than 10 goals. Princeton, on the other hand, has a good chance of scoring in the double digits, unless Dartmouth’s Campbell plays an almost flawless game.

This weekend’s game is a crucial one for Princeton’s Ivy League hopes. A win over Dartmouth would cement a spot for the Tigers in this year’s Ivy League tournament. Moreover, if Princeton wins, it will have the opportunity to host the tournament. Home-field advantage would give the Tigers a significant boost if they were to face a tough team like No. 9 Cornell during the event.