Princeton three-peats as NCAA M. Lax champion

Monday afternoon, Princeton claimed its third consecutive NCAA championship with a 15-5 thrashing of Maryland. The win makes Princeton, who also won titles in 1992 and 1994, the first team to ever win five titles in seven years. "I don't think of it as a dynasty, because each year is so trying, each year is so new," Tigers coach Bill Tierney said. In a rematch of last year's title game, the Terrapins were actually in the game at the half with the score knotted at three. After the intermission, however, the second-seeded Tigers rattled off five straight goals and never looked back. Attackman Jesse Hubbard led the Tigers with four goals, all in the fourth quarter. Chris Massey added three scores for Princeton. Last year, Princeton also routed Maryland for the championship, winning 19-7. Princeton had a somewhat more difficult time in Saturday's semifinal round, barely edging Syracuse, 11-10. Maryland routed top-seeded Loyola, Md., in the semifinals, winning by 11 goals. --Rick Haggerty