Men's lax hopes to avoid upset bug against Harvard

For a team with perennial national championship aspirations, such as men's lacrosse, the progress of other national powerhouses must always be followed.

This week saw major developments beyond Old Nassau with the breakdown of the old guard and the introduction of a new disorder in the college lacrosse landscape.

In the first half of the season, two teams — Syracuse and Virginia — clearly separated themselves from the masses below. A season-opening 13-12 overtime Orangemen win over the Cavaliers proved the teams roughly equal. Since then, the pair went about the task of wasting the remainder of the nation's challengers. Virginia thumped No. 4 Princeton, 15-8, March 11, and Syracuse bombarded then-No. 3 Loyola with 10 fourth-quarter goals to win 16-9 April 7.

The Cavaliers' and Orangemen's unfaltering march led many to assume that the top two seeds for the NCAA tournament were theirs for the taking. Just last week, Princeton head coach Bill Tierney conceded as much. "Right now, you've got Syracuse and Virginia that are maybe a little tougher than the rest," he said. "I think everybody else is about the same."

But somehow, some way, that amorphous "everyone else" stepped into the ranks of the Orangemen and Cavaliers Tuesday afternoon, when No. 8 Cornell shocked Syracuse, 13-12, in Ithaca, N.Y.

Done deal?

In many ways, the season is dawning anew — in Princeton and throughout the lacrosse world. The Tigers had already figured that their next three games — at Harvard on Saturday and home against Cornell and Syracuse next weekend — would be their most important stretch of the season. With the Big Red's big win, however, next weekend's games take on a new significance.

Originally, the Cornell-Syracuse weekend pair was to involve a contest against an Ivy foe and a national power. Now, the Tigers realize they have two games in two days against two national powers.

"Not only a win against Cornell, but a win against Syracuse will probably decide where we stand in the [NCAA] tournament," senior midfielder Josh Sims said.

Sims ought to know about Princeton's concern with the tournament. In his first two years here, the Tigers won two national championships, making last year's season — which included merely another Ivy League championship — almost a letdown.

"In some ways, we would like to always be there in the end," Sims said. "That's obviously not that realistic. [Winning two championships is] a tough way to start, because you have high expectations. Not only do you have high expectations, but some other people have high expectations of you."

Key test

Those expectations and Princeton's tournament hopes will undergo a close reevaluation over the next two weeks, beginning tomorrow at Harvard. This is a game the Tigers could easily look past, seeing the Big Red and Orange clouds lurking on the horizon. The Crimson are not going to bow easily, however, bringing one of its best teams in several years to the field.

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Harvard started the season 5-0, but compiled that record against few top-caliber teams. Upon meeting tougher programs, the Crimson dropped its next two matchups with Cornell and No. 5 Duke. Harvard has since redeemed itself, beating a Brown team Tuesday that had given Princeton a run for its money four days earlier.

Adding to Harvard's threat will be the opening of its new lacrosse stadium — the sort of hoopla that could put the Crimson on the field at its best.

"We had a pretty close game against Brown," Sims said. "But our coaches think that Harvard is probably a better team than Brown was. Their emotions are going to be a pretty big part in that game. We'd just like to overcome their emotion."