Men's lacrosse tops visiting Penn, 10-4

A dropped ball, an errant pass, a poor shot — there are several ways to lose possession in a lacrosse game. Yesterday at Class of 1952 Stadium, Princeton managed to eschew these gaffes, while Penn did not.

In the game, the Tigers (5-1 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) took advantage of the few opportunities the Quakers (3-5, 0-4) afforded them en route to a 10-4 victory.

Sophomore attackman B.J. Prager spearheaded the Princeton offense, scoring four goals on the day.

"It was another big win for us," Prager said. "[But] it was kind of ugly."

Despite losing the opening faceoff, Penn quickly regained possession on a Princeton turnover. However, the Quakers lost an opportunity to score first when attackman Scott Solow dropped a routine pass out of bounds.

Neither team's offense was particularly effective in the opening minutes, as both struggled to put quality shots on goal.

Finally, with seven minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter, senior midfielder Ryan O'Shaughnessy broke the scoreless tie when he drove from the top of the restraining box, made two roll dodges on two Penn defenders and fired a shot inside the far post.

Two minutes later, Prager nearly got on the board. With a Penn player serving an interference penalty, junior attackman Matt Striebel fired a pass from behind the goal line to a cutting Prager, whose shot seemed destined for the back of the net, only to be denied by a sparkling save from Quaker goaltender Ryan Kelly.

With 2:48 remaining in the opening quarter, Prager did convert a similar quickstick for a goal, this time off a feed from sophomore attackman Brendan Tierney.

The quickstick — catching and shooting the ball in the same motion — is almost a signature move for Prager, who used it on three of his four goals.

"That's how I play," Prager said, "That's my game — the quickstick. I played like that in high school and now in college. Most teams know it's coming, so usually they try to take it away from me."

Overall, Penn's defense played well, denying the Tigers easy scoring chances for the majority of the game. Of the shots that the Quakers did allow, most were handled by Kelly who, though only a freshman, made 15 saves in a stellar performance.

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"You've got to give [Penn's] goalie some credit, too," Princeton head coach Bill Tierney said. "He did a great job. Penn was doing a nice job defensively."

Anchored by the goaltending of junior Trevor Tierney, the Tigers' defensive unit also played one of its best games of the season. When Princeton's offense struggled in the early going, Tierney, along with long-sticks junior Ryan Mollett, sophomore Scott Farrell and freshman Damien Davis, held the Quaker attack at bay.

The defense even got involved at the other end of the field. Davis recorded his first career point at the collegiate level when he assisted on Brendan Tierney's goal early in the third quarter. Mollett, on the other hand, tried on several occasions to notch his first goal of the season, but never managed to sneak one past Kelly.

Momentary lapses cost the Quakers in all facets of the game. Defensively, Penn lost sight of Prager for just an instant on a couple of occasions. As a result, Prager scored four goals.

In an attempt to keep the ball out of the hands of Princeton's big guns, Penn used a patient, deliberate offense. This tactic, while effective, places greater importance on each possession. The Quakers squandered several of these crucial possessions, however, through sloppy fundamental play. On several occasions Penn lost the ball, simply by dropping passes, or overthrowing open men.