Princeton dominates M. Lax, again

The two-time defending national champion Tigers were too much for Penn, as they won by a 17-8 final. The season ended in the same way it began for the Penn men's lacrosse team -- with an Ivy League loss. Penn was swept in its final two games of the season. The 11-6 loss Saturday at Yale (4-9, 2-4 Ivy League) and the 17-8 defeat last night at No. 2 Princeton (10-1, 6-0) left the Red and Blue with at 4-9 overall and just 1-5 in the Ivy League. With the win, Princeton won its fourth consecutive Ivy League title, while recording its third straight perfect conference record. On the other hand, the Quakers regressed from last year's 6-6 overall and 3-3 Ivy League record. "We didn't play with the same verve against Yale as we did in this game [against Princeton]," Penn coach Marc Van Arsdale said. "The great lesson for us this year is the importance of preparing and being ready to play with top energy and enthusiasm every time out." Sophomore attackman Peter Janney led Penn scorers with three goals, and midfielder Jeff Zuckerman added two assists on a night where the Quakers were outplayed in every statistical category. Princeton seemed to figure out Penn goalkeeper Matt Schroeder's weakness -- defending his lower right corner of the net -- starting with the Tigers' second quarter rally. Still, Penn defeated itself with failed clears in several stages of the game. The ensuing turnovers off the clearing attempts gave the Tigers the opportunity to dictate the pace of the game, especially in the third quarter when Princeton outshot the Quakers 17-3. "Part of the failed clears was Princeton's team speed advantage," Van Arsdale said. "They make it very difficult for you to come up the field in unsettled ground ball situations." One positive that emerged from the match was Penn's improvement over last year's 15-4 home defeat to the Tigers. "We were able to have our way far more than last year -- Princeton's defense was not as impenetrable," Van Arsdale said. "The first half was almost even in shots, whereas in last year's game we were hoping to get shots on goal." Last night's match at Class of 1952 Stadium in Princeton, N.J., was decided early. Tigers senior attackman Chris Massey capped a 49-second, three-goal scoring spree for Princeton, with one of his five goals on the evening. The Tigers set the early tone and took a 4-1 lead into the second quarter. Not long after Princeton put another goal on the board to start the second period, Penn attackman Todd Minerly cut and weaved his way to the net on a one-on-one effort at 4:46 of the quarter to keep Penn within striking distance at 5-2. Princeton then turned up the offense again late in the second quarter. Tigers sophomore midfielder Chris Berrier scored on a fast break to give Princeton the 7-3 lead. One minute later, Tigers junior midfielder Lorne Smith beat Schroeder to the netminder's low right corner. After another Penn penalty, Massey netted the pass from senior linemate John Wynne at 10:14 of the second period to complete the Tigers' second string of the evening. Penn midfielder Shane Lavery scored a late goal for Penn before the end of the half, putting a small dent on Princeton's commanding 9-4 halftime lead, but by then the game had already been decided. Last night's contest was a display of two teams headed in different directions. While Princeton looks forward to the NCAA tournament round of 16, Penn ponders the higher expectations that were not met and looks to its large number of returning players to improve results next year. "One thing the underclassmen learned is that what is important in the game right now is not the triumph but the struggle," Penn sophomore Joe Siedlecki said. "You can't go up until you've been down, and we've experienced that."