April 23, 2003: Sports
Looking
toward May
Men’s lax beats national champs
Sports Web Exclusives! P-nut Gallery column
Looking
toward May
Men’s lax beats national
champs
By David Marcus ’92
Men’s lacrosse coach Bill Tierney thinks of his schedule as tripartite. First come March games against traditional powers Johns Hopkins, the University of Virginia, and Syracuse; then the Ivy League schedule and a few nonleague games; and finally the playoffs in May.
The Tigers capped their early season March 22 with an 11—10 win at Syracuse, avoiding last year’s 1—3 start and proving that Princeton can play with the Orangemen, who had won six of the last seven meetings between the two squads. “I was ready with the postgame speech if we lost,” said Tierney. “With the win, the game became more important. We’ve proven we can get it done.”
As has become its wont, Princeton started slowly before coming back from an 8—4 third-quarter deficit against the Orangemen. The Tigers also played a sluggish first half in their March 1 season opener in which Hopkins jumped to an 8—3 halftime lead and won 10—8. A week later, Princeton was held scoreless for the first 20 minutes of a 10—7 Virginia win. And March 25, Princeton fell behind 3—0 to Rutgers and trailed 8—7 in the fourth quarter before scoring three goals in 51 seconds for a 10—8 win.
The Tigers also won their first two Ivy games, beating Yale 15—5 March 29 and Penn 12—6 April 1. On a sour note, All-American Ryan Boyle ’04 hurt his hamstring versus Penn and may be out indefinitely.
The victory over Syracuse highlighted the play of goalie Julian Gould ’03 and attackman Jason Doneger ’05. Gould was shaky at times last year, but he’s stopped 59 percent of the shots he’s faced thus far. “Julian’s had an All-American season,” Tierney said.
While Gould preserved the win by saving a last-second shot, Doneger kept the Tigers in the game early. He scored all three of the team’s first-half goals and finished with five for the day. Doneger added three more against Rutgers and has 17 goals for the season. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Jason Doneger yet. Against Syracuse, he had to carry the team on his back for a while, and he did,” Tierney said.
Princeton’s win over Syracuse demonstrated the parity at the top
of men’s college lacrosse. So far, each of last year’s best
four teams – Princeton, Syracuse, Hopkins and Virginia – have
played the other, with four of the six games being decided by a goal.
The same quartet may well be in the Final Four. 
David Marcus ’92 is a frequent PAW contributor.
Sports SHORTS
In a rematch of last year’s N.C.A.A. championship, women’s lacrosse (4—3) defeated Georgetown 13—11 in an overtime thriller at home March 28. Whitney Miller ’03 and Theresa Sherry ’04 each scored in overtime to give the Tigers the win. Princeton thrashed Columbia, 15—2, in its Ivy season opener March 26.
Four-time defending national champion women’s lightweight crew beat Harvard in its season-opening race at the Windermere Collegiate Crew Classic in California March 29. The Tigers also outpaced California—Davis and Stanford that weekend to open the year 3—0.
Wrestling’s Greg Parker ’03 ended his Princeton career with All-America honors for the second straight year after placing eighth in the 184-pound weight class at the N.C.A.A. championships March 22 in Kansas City.
The defending Ivy League softball (7—9) champions started their season with a 3—7 spring break road trip through Tennessee and Georgia. After losing two games to Rutgers upon their return, the Tigers rallied to beat Monmouth twice at home, and George Mason and Norfolk State in Virginia.
Baseball (6—14) returned from its spring break trip through Virginia and North Carolina with a 4—12 record. The Tigers rebounded with home wins over Monmouth and Vermont in late March as they primed to defend their Ivy League Gehrig Division title.
Women’s water polo (13—4) downed Bucknell 11—2 March 30. The Tigers were ranked 13th nationally heading into the game and were the only East Coast team in the top 15.
Men’s golf topped a 20-team field that included Yale and Rutgers
to win the rain-shortened 2003 George Washington Invitational in Maryland
March 31. Nat Hoopes ’03 and Cassidy Traub ’03 tied for third
overall to carry the team to its three-stroke victory. By A.D.
