Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Princeton Men's Lacrosse 2009 - Season Preview
Excerpts Courtesy: Princeton Athletic Communications
Photo Courtesy BKS
The 2009 season will see Princeton shake up its schedule a bit, as for the first time since 1991, there will be no regular-season game against Virginia. Instead, the third weekend of the season will see Princeton travel to UMBC on Friday night and then host Manhattan Sunday afternoon.
The rest of the schedule is basically the same as a year ago, with most of the sites reversed. Canisius will again come to Princeton, though on Feb. 21, for the earliest lacrosse game in school history. Princeton will participate in the Konica Minolta Face-Off against Johns Hopkins for the third straight year, though Duke-Maryland replaces Syracuse-Virginia as the other game at M&T Bank Stadium.
Princeton actually plays two games at an NFL venue this year, both of which are ESPNU telecasts. In addition to the Hopkins game, Princeton will play Syracuse at Giants Stadium in the Inside Lacrosse Big City Classic, a tripleheader that starts with North Carolina-Virginia and ends with Hofstra-Delaware. Albany comes to Princeton to complete a home-and-home in a game that will also be on ESPNU.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Five storylines to watch this season
1. Can Syracuse repeat?
It's a question that has been "repeated" since 1998 when Princeton capped a run of three consecutive national championships. But if there's a team poised to join those Tigers, it's this year's Orange, which returns six starters and adds a pair of transfers in senior midfielder Scott Kahoe ( Georgetown) and sophomore defenseman John Lade (Villanova) - both of whom are expected to start. If junior attackman Cody Jamieson (122 goals, 237points in two seasons at Onondaga Community College), a transfer, can clear eligibility, watch out. The key could be finding a replacement for faceoff specialist Danny Brennan, who led the nation with a .667 percentage.2. Maybe this is the year …
… that a school other than the bluebloods - Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Princeton or Virginia - captures the national title. One of those four programs has taken home the crown each year since 1992. The last team outside those four to win the national championship? North Carolina in 1991. Those Tar Heels, Maryland, Cornell, UMBC and Duke are deserving of mention.3. Princeton on the rise
For the first time since 2005, the Tigers failed to collect an NCAA tournament invitation, but a repeat is unlikely. Why? Princeton has not spent May at home in back-to-back seasons under coach Bill Tierney since 1988-1989. Graduation took a toll on the defense, but the offense might be even stronger than last year's.4. Is there a surprise team on the horizon?
Hofstra returns four starters who scored no fewer than 22goals each. Georgetown is still fuming over being left out of the tournament, and Bucknell and Colgate renew a budding rivalry with Navy. Brown might have a say in determining whether Cornell or Princeton takes home the Ivy League title.
5. Go west
All four teams that make up the Atlantic Coast Conference earned a seed, but the Great Western Lacrosse League didn't fare too poorly, sending Notre Dame, Ohio State and Denver to the NCAA tournament. Notre Dame and Ohio State advanced to the quarterfinals, with the Irish on the cusp of upsetting eventual champion Syracuse. Sending those three teams again could be tough, but not impossible.Original story here.
Baltimore to host lacrosse Final Four in 2010 and 2011
"Every year we've had it in Baltimore, we've set an attendance record," said Ravens president Dick Cass, who helped spearhead efforts to bring the tournament back to town. "So we have a real track record with this event."
NCAA officials cited that track record in explaining their selection.
Full story here.
Baltimore Sun Division I Pre-season Top 20
The Baltimore Sun Division I Top 20
February 6, 2009
(2008 record in parentheses)
1. Virginia (14-4)
2. Syracuse (16-2)
3. Maryland (10-6)
4. North Carolina (8-6)
5. J. Hopkins (11-6)
6. UMBC (12-4)
7. Cornell (11-4)
8. Duke (18-2)
9. Denver (10-7)
10. Navy (10-6)
11 Hofstra (10-6)
12. Brown (11-3)
13. Colgate (11-6)
14. N. Dame (14-3)
15. Ohio State (11-6)
16. Loyola (7-7)
17. Georgetown (9-4)
18. Princeton (7-6)
19. Bucknell (10-5)
20. Towson (5-9)
Original story here.
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