This Sunday, two unfamiliar foes will square off under familiar circumstances. Despite their reputations as mainstays of the NCAA lacrosse tournament, the men’s lacrosse team will take on No. 20 Notre Dame for just the second time in program history.
Princeton (11-4 overall, 4-2 Ivy League) enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed and will host the unseeded Fighting Irish (7-6 overall) at Class of 1952 Stadium at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The game will also be broadcast on ESPNU. The last time the two teams met was in 1995, when the Tigers took the contest 6-4. That was only a regular-season game; this time, much more is on the line.
Princeton comes into the tournament on a bit of a run. After disappointing back-to-back Ivy League losses to Harvard and No. 7 Cornell, the Tigers rallied in the inaugural Ivy League lacrosse tournament. Though Cornell, Yale, Brown and Princeton all finished tied for the Ivy League Championship by virtue of their 4-2 records, the Tigers secured the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the first-ever league tournament, an accomplishment made all the more impressive because it was held in Ithaca, N.Y. The Tigers squeezed by Yale 7-6 in the first game and then rallied from an early deficit to force overtime against Cornell. Princeton took home the trophy after junior attack Jack McBride stunned the Big Red with a game-winning goal with just one second left on the clock in overtime.
“It was always a frustration last year, so to overcome them as a team like that, it definitely gave us more confidence,” sophomore defenseman Chad Wiedmaier said. “Beating Cornell was awesome. It definitely gives us momentum going into the tournament.”
The Tigers will face a Notre Dame squad that has posted some impressive victories to offset its six losses this season.
The Fighting Irish opened their season with three straight victories, including impressive road wins over No. 5 Duke (12-4) and unranked Loyola Maryland (9-4). Notre Dame also routed unranked Denver 14-7. On the other hand, it lost to Drexel, Fairfield, Villanova, Rutgers, Georgetown and, in its last game of the season, No. 2 Syracuse. Only the Syracuse Orange made it into the tourney field.
Princeton and Notre Dame shared two common opponents this year. The Irish lost to Rutgers 10-8, whereas the Tigers won their game by the same score. Both teams fell to Syracuse.
Notre Dame’s focal point on offense will be its midfield. Zach Brenneman, a first-team All-Big East selection, leads the Fighting Irish with 23 goals and co-leads the team with 12 assists. Grant Krebs is right behind him with 21 scores.
“Their two middies, Krebs and Brenneman, are really good,” Wiedmaier said.
Backstopping the Notre Dame defense is goalie Scott Rodgers. A second-team All-Big East selection, Rodgers ranks 10th nationally in goals-against average with 8.31 per game. His save percentage of .568 is 11th nationally.
Princeton has its own stud goaltender, however, in sophomore Tyler Fiorito. Fiorito has also recorded a save percentage of .568, but that may understate his value to the team. In the recent win over Cornell, he made numerous saves down the stretch to allow the Tigers to rally.
Offensively, the Tigers will look to McBride and freshman midfielder Mike Chanenchuck to carry the load. McBride and Chanenchuck have tallied 33 and 28 goals, respectively. Four other players have recorded double-digit goals for the season: senior attackman Rob Engelke, junior attackman Chris McBride, freshman midfielder Jeff Froccaro and senior attackman Scott Mackenzie.
In a strange twist of fate, Princeton grabbed the seed that an undefeated Notre Dame team earned last year. But the Fighting Irish fell in the first round of last year’s tournament; this time, they will be looking to play the role of spoiler.
Fortunately for the Tigers, they have the advantage of playing on their home turf, where they are 5-1. Notre Dame, conversely, is 2-3 in true road games.
“The game is being played in Class of 1952 stadium. It’s a different surface than 95 percent of college teams play on today,” Wiedmaier said. “Everything’s a little different about it. I think it always adds a little advantage.”
“And there’s nothing better than playing in Class of 1952 stadium when it’s absolutely packed and you can see fans everywhere,” he added.
The Tigers will look to capitalize on their momentum and a revved up crowd as they try to take their first step in the 2010 NCAA tournament.
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