A FRONT ROW VIEW: Princeton put on textbook defensive clinic

Fifty minutes, 25 seconds can be a long time. Sitting through some lectures makes that clear. But in lacrosse, 50:25 is an eternity. That's how long Princeton held the Penn men's lacrosse team scoreless yesterday afternoon at blustery Franklin Field. Unlike one measly lecture, this game covered the entire textbook. Particularly textbook defense. After the reigning Ivy Player of the Week, Penn's Andy Crofton, scored with 5:25 left in the first quarter to knot the score at 2, the Quakers were silenced. Princeton has smothered teams all season. The Tigers shut down their opponent, score some goals at the offensive end and slowly suffocate you. The No. 5 team in the nation does not normally have an explosive outburst like it did in yesterday's 19-2 rout. The Tigers have won consistently with defense. They have won national championships, including a 9-8 decision over Virginia to capture last year's crown. They have held much better teams than the Quakers scoreless for long periods of time this season -- Johns Hopkins for 14:19; Virginia for 14:46; Notre Dame for 30:00; North Carolina for 21:18. The Tigers just have not held anyone scoreless quite this long. This was more than a drought. It was the Sahara Desert. How bad were things going? When Penn hit the side of the net on a shot late in the game, fans mistakenly celebrated with the Quakers hopelessly behind. Later, a 65-yard heave by Princeton defender Andrew Mitchell found its way into the Penn net. There will be better days, Princeton coach Bill Tierney told Terry Corcoran, Penn's head man, after the contest. Much better than the pounding the Quakers took at the hands of Princeton yesterday. Times will be better when Corcoran recruits his own people and firmly ingrains his program. Tierney does not expect his Tigers will be able to walk into Franklin Field and get an easy contest when they next visit in a couple years. You can almost see the ambush waiting. Corcoran leads Penn's rejuvenated program, remembers the blowout and decides to get some payback for a bad defeat. Well forget it, because Princeton actually showed mercy. After scoring its 17th straight unanswered goal to make the score 19-2, Princeton called timeout, then proceeded to run most of the final seven minutes off the clock without trying to shoot. Picture Pete Carril's basketball squad without a shot clock. That may not be a bad analogy. Jason Osier, Princeton's basketball-turned-lacrosse player, scored four goals. Adam Rubin is a Wharton senior from Bellmore, N.Y., and former Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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