Men's Lacrosse: Hopkins visits for ESPNU showdown

“You really don’t need any outside inspiration for this game,” junior attackman Luke Armour said. “Princeton-Hopkins has always been a huge rivalry game and one that for years has been circled on the calendar.”

The game on Friday is a rematch of the Tigers’ 8-3 demolition of the then-No. 8 Blue Jays last year in Baltimore, when Princeton still looked like a strong Ivy League and national contender despite its loss to No. 6 Hofstra in the opener. The Tigers, however, finished the season 4-8, succumbing to key injuries and a rash of close losses, while Johns Hopkins finished the season in the NCAA quarterfinals at 13-3.

In this year’s opener, Princeton took care of Hofstra 12-6 last Saturday and defeated Manhattan 13-7 on Tuesday night. Now the Tigers will face off against the team ranked second in the country.

The Blue Jays are 3-0, having defeated Towson 12-6, Delaware 8-6 and Siena 9-5, but they have not yet faced a road contest.

The battle of Princeton’s offense, which has proven itself in its first two contests, against a formidable Johns Hopkins defense will be key to the outcome of the game. Defense is a point of emphasis for Blue Jays head coach Dave Pietramala, holding Towson scoreless for over 27 minutes. Johns Hopkins defender Tucker Durkin leads his unit, which has only allowed 5.8 goals over its past 12 games.

“Hopkins is a great team and defense, and they’ve seen everything we’re going to be doing for the most part,” Armour said. “The key for us will be to play with pace and stick to our fundamentals, and we’re confident that we can execute at that pace.”

“With the quick turnaround from the midweek game we have been focusing on film and a couple new plays Coach [Chris] Bates has added to our offense that we trust will be effective against their defense,” freshman attackman Mike MacDonald said.

The Tigers have an answer in the duo of sophomore midfielder Tom Schreiber and MacDonald. The two have fueled Princeton’s attack, which some considered a question mark going into the season, despite Schreiber’s status as reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year and preseason first team All-America. Schreiber has accounted for 12 of the Tigers’ 40 points so far.

“Tom hasn’t been surprising anyone,” Armour said. “A lot of people think Tom is the best player in the country, and I would agree with that. He has been working really hard in living up to those expectations.”

MacDonald entered the team with high expectations, as Bates needed the freshman attack to step up to fill the void left by the graduations of Jack McBride ’11 and Chris McBride ’11. MacDonald has certainly lived up to the billing in his first two games, with four points up to this point, tied with junior midfielders Tucker Shanley and Jeff Froccaro and senior attackman Mike Grossman.

“Mikey has been awesome so far,” Armour said of MacDonald. “He just keeps it simple. He’s a finisher, a lefty finisher, and he’s got great hands.”

Schreiber and his offense have announced themselves to the country, improving over last year’s squad that did not break 11 goals in a game, but Johns Hopkins’ defense will be a litmus test for the Tigers. The play between Schreiber and MacDonald has definitely helped in the first two games.

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“[Tom] makes the game a lot easier for people around him because he attracts so much attention on the field,” MacDonald said. “Aside from being good friends off the field, I think we have developed a good amount of trust on the field, which has definitely helped our chemistry so far.”

Defense will be a strong point for the Tigers. Senior goaltender Tyler Fiorito, returning from a one-game suspension for violating team rules, is a strength in front of the net. Senior defenders Chad Wiedmaier, John Cunningham and Jonathan Meyers are rocks for Princeton on defense, and their leadership will be important for the entire team this season.

The Tigers face an underachieving Blue Jays first midfield line that has more turnovers than points and is shooting just 3-45. Attackman Zach Palmer leads the Johns Hopkins offense, but the Blue Jays are without attackman Chris Boland, who is out with a collarbone injury.

The game against Johns Hopkins is the first of five straight games Princeton has against ranked teams, including games against No. 4 North Carolina in Baltimore and at No. 9 Villanova. The stretch also includes the beginning of what could be a brutal Ivy League season, starting with No. 19 Penn and No. 16 Yale.

“As important as this game [against Johns Hopkins] is, we’re treating it like all the games,” Armour said. “We’re just taking it one game at a time. We’re doing it all together. Once this game is over, the next week is going to be big, and the next week just as big. We’re excited, but they’re all big games, and they’re all important to us.”