The NCAA News - News and Features

June 2, 1997

Princeton caps perfect season with romp in I men's lacrosse

BY MARTY BENSON
STAFF WRITER

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND -- Nineteen has been a meaningful number for Princeton all year. Every time the Tigers scored that many goals, coach Bill Tierney instructed his players to stop the madness and hold the ball.

You see, back when the Tigers were not perennial Division I champions, Tierney promised himself he never would put 20 goals on the scoreboard against an opponent in a mismatch.

Now in his 10th year at the Ivy Group powerhouse, the former Johns Hopkins assistant never dreamed he would have to employ the rule in a national-championship game, but that is what happened May 26 at Maryland.

The defending champion Tigers capped a perfect season (16-0) with a 19-7 domination of unseeded Maryland, extending the third-longest winning streak in Division I NCAA lacrosse history to 28 games and becoming the first team to repeat since Syracuse (1988 and 1990). The Tigers also became the first champions to turn in a perfect ledger since North Carolina's 16-0 run in 1991.

Tierney's squad had won three titles in the previous five years, but opponents voiced hopeful doubts about whether Princeton really was that dominant. After all, each of the Tigers' championship victories came in overtime.

Jon Hess, a junior attackman who scored three goals and delivered five assists in the final to win selection as the tournament's most outstanding player, said this year's one-sided performance was especially satisfying when viewed in that light -- particularly after the way the Tigers started the year.

"We heard a lot of talk when we won our first two games in overtime (7-6 vs. Johns Hopkins and 14-13 vs. Virginia)," he said. "We heard, 'they could be 0-2, and they've won national championships, but they've always been in overtime.' It's good not to have to hear that any more.

"(Tiger defenseman) Becket Wolf told me before the game that he thought we were due to play a complete game, and we got that."

The early moments of the first quarter offered no warning that Princeton would ring up a championship-game-tying eight goals before the first 15 minutes had elapsed. The Tigers had their chances, but Terrapin goalie Sean Keenan snuffed four straight shots.

But then the floodgates opened in a manner similar to the way the heavens did the previous night, flash-flooding the College Park area but leaving the Byrd Stadium grass in surprisingly good shape.

Hess started the tidal wave with an unassisted goal with 7:23 left in the quarter. Then scores and assists came from all directions and sources -- Lorne Smith from Jason Osier. Craig Katz unassisted. Chris Massey unassisted. Jason Buttles from James Mitchell. Katz again. Todd Eichelberger from Osier. Jesse Hubbard unassisted.

All of a sudden, the first-quarter score was 8-0.

Although lacrosse is a game in which nearly no first-half lead is insurmountable, this one was, and the portion of the 25,317 paying fans who were in the stands knew it. By half time, the score was 10-2, and the only question was whether Princeton would score 19 and, if so, whether Tierney's rule applied to championship games.

Nineteen happened on Hubbard's fourth goal, an unassisted tally with 4:36 left.

After the game, Tierney said his rule indeed had been in effect, but emphasized that the large margin did not in any way diminish his respect for Maryland -- the first team in tournament history to play each of the three top seeds.

His troops had logged a near-perfect day and he knew it. "If we can play any better than that, I can't wait for the day," he said.

Future opponents cannot share in that anticipation.

Among them is Maryland coach Dick Edell, whose teams have fallen in the title game in two of the past three years. He, too, realized the Terrapins had fallen victim to a vintage performance, especially from the attack trio of Hess, Hubbard (four goals, three assists) and Massey (three goals).

"I was awestruck at what they were able to do," he said. "They've got speed, quickness and they are unselfish.

"It's more fun coaching against a superstar like Casey Powell (of Syracuse, the Terps' semifinal opponent)," he continued. "This team has so many weapons."

Edell also had words of praise for senior Princeton goalie Patrick Cairns (17 saves), who also was last year's championship-game starter but was yanked in that contest for then-senior and eventual tournament outstanding player Pancho Gutstein.

"They say he's just an average goalie, but he seemed above-average today."

Cairns and Wolf joined the Tiger attack on the all-tournament team. Terrapins Matt Hahn and Andrew Whipple also were honored. Other selections were Syracuse's Rob Kavovit and Powell and Duke's John Fay.

Semifinals

The championship-game blowout was a tournament anomaly. Until then, every game had been decided by one goal, except for Princeton's relative "blowout" of Massachusetts, 11-9.

Saturday's semifinals may have been the best of the lot, as was the crowd. Two one-goal thrillers were viewed by a sun-drenched, event-record crowd announced at 30,580 -- a mark exceeded by only one other NCAA championship this year, the men's Final Four, which drew 47,107 spectators.

In the first semifinal, Princeton looked every bit the defending champion, playing stifling defense and controlling offense en route to a 6-1 first-quarter lead. But fifth-seeded Duke awakened with five unanswered goals to tie the game by half time.

Blue Devils coach Mike Pressler credited his team's resurrection to "getting mad and treating it like a football game."

The Tigers were outscored, 3-1, in the third quarter as Duke built a 9-7 lead, but Princeton came back methodically. Unassisted goals by Osier and Eichelberger tied the game with 5:25 left, setting the stage for a move straight out of Princeton's basketball playbook.

With 4:50 left, Massey turned to the backdoor chapter, feigning a charge away from the cage and bolting behind Duke defenseman Greg Ehrnman for the game-winner.

The Tigers then did their impression of North Carolina basketball's old four-corners stall, a byproduct of the 19-goal limit.

"It's funny, everyone talks about the 19-goal rule," Tierney said after the semifinal victory. "I think you can see the difference it made today."

In the second semifinal, Maryland survived a Syracuse-style footrace to outlast the Orangemen, 18-17.

"We didn't intend it to be a shootout," Edell said, "...but the object is to win the game. You have to adjust and we did what we needed to win."

The Orange trailed throughout but never by more than three goals -- a lead the hosts achieved twice.

SEMIFINALS

Duke -- 2 -- 4 -- 3 -- 0 -- 9

Princeton -- 6 -- 0 -- 1 -- 3 -- 10

Duke scoring -- John Fay 3, Ed Fay 2, Scott Diggs 2, Scott Allen 1, John O'Donnell 1.

Princeton scoring -- Chris Massey 3, Lorne Smith 2, Jon Hess 2, Jesse Hubbard 1, Jason Osier 1, Todd Eichelberger 1.

Shots: Duke 28, Princeton 37. Saves: Duke -- Joe Kirmser 6; Princeton -- Patrick Cairns 11. Attendance: 30,580.

Maryland -- 4 -- 5 -- 4 -- 5 -- 18

Syracuse -- 3 -- 4 -- 4 -- 6 -- 17

Maryland scoring -- Brian Zeller 3, Matt Hahn 3, Scott Hochstadt 2, Peter Hilgartner 2, Todd Evans 2, Maury LaPointe 1, Bob Hanna 1, Frank Radin 1, Andrew Whipple 1, Brian Reese 1, Bill Ruhl 1.

Syracuse scoring -- Casey Powell 4, Rob Kavovit 4, Ryan Powell 3, Doug Jackson 3, Matt Alexander 1, Matt Cutia 1, Ira Vanterpool 1.

Shots: Maryland 46, Syracuse 40. Saves: Maryland -- Sean Keenan 8, Syracuse -- Jason Gebhardt 11. Attendance: 30,580.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Maryland -- 0 -- 3 -- 2 -- 2 -- 7

Princeton -- 8 -- 2 -- 6 -- 3 -- 19

Maryland scoring -- Peter Hilgartner 2, Andrew Whipple 1, Matt Hahn 1, Brian Zeller 1, Scott Hockstadt 1, Kevin Pasqualina 1.

Princeton scoring -- Jesse Hubbard 4, Chris Massey 3, Craig Katz 3, Jon Hess 3, Josh Sims 2, Lorne Smith 2, Jason Buttles 1, Todd Eichelberger 1.

Shots: Maryland 34, Princeton 52. Saves: Maryland -- Sean Keenan 10, Kevin Healy 7; Princeton -- Patrick Cairns 15. Attendance: 25,317.