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Princeton Men's Lacrosse Squanders Early Edge As No. 3 Syracuse Explodes for 14-12 Win
By Bill Alden
The Princeton University men's lacrosse team clicked on all cylinders last Saturday as it jumped out to a 7-2 second period lead over powerful Syracuse.
Offensively, the Tigers displayed their trademark deliberate and opportunistic approach while their defense stymied the high-powered Orangemen with goalie Dave Law making some sensational saves.
But befitting the intense nature of the rivalry pitting the programs that have won 13 of the last 16 NCAA titles, Syracuse wasn't about to fold. The Orangemen scored two late second period goals to narrow the Princeton edge to 7-4 at the half.
Gaining control of the tempo in the second half, Syracuse's offense turned into a tidal wave as it outscored the Tigers 10-5 over the last 30 minutes of the contest to earn a 14-12 win before a record crowd of 6,186 that was jamming the Class of 1952 Stadium.
Afterward, Princeton defender Ricky Schultz wasn't quite sure what to make of the orange truck that hit the Tigers. "I don't really know what happened," said the 6'2, 215-pound senior from Timonium, Md.
"We made a lot of mental mistakes on defense. We had some guys not sliding, we had guys not playing good one-on-one defense. The thing about them is that they're such a high-powered team offensively."
Schultz acknowledged that the Orangemen's high-octane approach wore down the Tigers as the game unfolded. "Syracuse goes on a lot of runs," explained Schultz, one of three Tigers remaining on the roster who played in Princeton's 2001 championship game win over Syracuse.
"You hope you can fend off those runs. We didn't and they just kept on going. I was certainly tired by the end. It was a hard-fought game."
Princeton head coach Bill Tierney, for his part, knew that Princeton's quick start didn't guarantee anything against No. 3 Syracuse.
"I thought we had a little fool's gold in the first half," said Tierney whose fifth-ranked club dropped to 3-2 with the setback. "Dave [Law] made some beautiful saves. He was able to keep us in it. But this is Syracuse and they are going to get their shots."
Tierney maintained that Princeton's weakness on faceoffs proved to be its Achilles heel. "The faceoffs are bad," admitted Tierney, who got three goals and three assists from Ryan Boyle and a hat trick from Jason Doneger.
"We knew that it was going to tell the tale. I think that we won 8-of-29 faceoffs. You're not going to win any lacrosse game with that, much less a game against a team like Syracuse."
While Tierney was not happy with Saturday's result, he had no qualms with his team's effort. "You hope they learn that if they play this hard the rest of the season, we're going to be in pretty good shape," said Tierney, whose club opens Ivy League play when it hosts Yale on April 3. "We asked them to go out there today and play their hearts out and they did. We just weren't good enough. The question is now can we re-do that against a team that is not Syracuse."
Schultz and the team's veterans are determined to answer that question in the affirmative. "I feel I didn't step up my game enough today," said Schultz, who is primed to help the team get off on the right foot in its bid to win its 12th Ivy crown in the last 13 seasons.
"All the seniors, all the older guys should take responsibility for that. We have to put this team on our shoulders next week and continue on in the Ivy League. Yale is a darn good team and we can't get complacent. We have to be strong and stay intense."
