Princeton still dominates envious Penn

No. 1 Tigers openNo. 1 Tigers opengame with 12No. 1 Tigers opengame with 12unanswered goals PRINCETON, N.J. -- Penn and Princeton are famous for dominating Ivy League athletics to the envy of the other six member schools. Men's lacrosse is no exception to this general rule, but in its case, there is a twist. Princeton does all the dominating, while Penn joins the ranks of the envious. So entering yesterday afternoon's matchup at Princeton's brand-new Class of 1952 Stadium, it was nothing new for the Tigers to be the prohibitive favorites. That is a role that Princeton (5-1, 2-0 Ivy League) played well, charging out of the gate with 12 unanswered goals, en route to a 19-4 hammering of the Quakers (3-6, 0-3). It was Princeton's seventh consecutive victory in the annual meeting. The Tigers, who are ranked No.1 in the country in this week's Face-off magazine media poll, did not take long in establishing their dominance. By the eight-minute mark of the opening quarter, Princeton already held a commanding 5-0 lead. Penn had yet to record a shot on goal, even though it had drawn an early penalty, allowing the offense to play six against five for half a minute. A rash of turnovers prevented the Quakers from putting together a serious offensive threat. "They're playing at a higher level," Penn coach Terry Corcoran said. "We broke down fundamentally." Princeton's early offensive fireworks were sparked by Todd Eichelberger. The junior forward had four points (two goals, two assists) in the first quarter, including the first tally of the contest, which came on a cut to the front of the goal and a quick shot. The enigmatic attacker finished with three goals and four assists. "I thought Todd Eichelberger really came to play today," Princeton coach Bill Tierney said. "Todd's always been a good lacrosse player, but hasn't always made the effort." The Penn defensive unit had to be wishing that Eichelberger had not chosen yesterday to break out. The Quakers already had their hands full with the rest of Princeton's attack. The Tigers patiently worked the ball around the offensive zone, not settling for less than the best shot. That system worked repeatedly, as successive Tigers attackers stretched Penn's defense to the limit. In all, 11 different Princeton players scored goals. "They're well disciplined, able to move the ball well," Corcoran said. "And they're a lot faster." Despite the high final score, there were no goals by either side in the last quarter. Before that quarter, Tierney hit the brakes, ordering his players to hold the ball for as long as possible without shooting at goal. At one point, Princeton ran off 24 straight passes in a two-and-a-half minute span. "We didn't come out intimidated or expecting to lose," Penn senior defenseman and tri-captain Kevin O'Brien said. Penn goalie Matt Schroeder, making his seventh start of the year, felt the brunt of the Princeton blitz -- allowing eight goals in 10 minutes. At Penn's second time out, Corcoran replaced him with Shane Lavery. "He was getting shelled," Corcoran said. Jon Cusson broke up Princeton's shutout six minutes into the second quarter. That cut the deficit to 12-1 and ended the Tigers' consecutive scoreless minute streak against Penn at 71, going back to the first quarter of last season's 19-2 Princeton triumph at Franklin Field.