Princeton University Athletics
Orange Bowl
March 20, 2001 | Men's Lacrosse
March 20, 2001
Princeton vs. Syracuse
The site The Carrier Dome * Syracuse, N.Y.
The date Saturday, March 24, 2001 *?2:30 p.m.
The records Princeton: 3-0, Syracuse: 3-1
The coaches Princeton: Bill Tierney (17th season, 183-59), Syracuse: John Desko (third season, 30-7)
The series Syracuse leads 8-5
Last season Syracuse defeated Princeton 16-4 * April 23, 2000, Syracuse defeated Princeton 13-7 * May 29, 2000 (NCAA final)
We are the champions, or they are - Princeton and Syracuse have combined to win 11 of the last 13 national championships.
Orange crush - Syracuse defeated Princeton twice last year, once in the regular season and once in the NCAA championship game, by a combined total of 29-11.
More crush - Princeton's 16-4 loss to Syracuse in the regular season last year is the Tigers' worst loss in the last 11 years.
Still more crush - Syracuse's Liam Banks had eight goals and Michael Springer had seven goals in two games against Princeton last season. Teen idols - Princeton has allowed 13 or more goals seven times in its last 118 games (dating to the start of the 1993 season). Syracuse was the team to score at least 13 goals four of those seven times, including twice last season.
The B.J. factor - B.J. Prager did not play in either game against Syracuse last season. Prager suffered a torn ACL against Cornell the day before Princeton faced the Orangemen in the regular season, and he missed the rest of the season and NCAA tournament.
D-plus - Princeton has allowed 13 goals in three games, an average of one goal every 13.8 minutes.
Quarterly report - Princeton has allowed 13 goals in three games, of which six have come in the first three quarters and seven have come in the fourth quarter.
More quarterly - The average score at the end of the third quarter of Princeton's first three games has been 7-2 in favor of the Tigers.
Net gains - Trevor Tierney has a save percentage of .745.
I'm honored - Ryan Boyle was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week after scoring two goals (both in the first quarter) and adding one assist in the win over Hofstra.
We're No. 1 - Princeton is ranked No. 1 nationally for the first time since the end of the 1998 season.
History lesson - Princeton defeated Syracuse 15-14 in four overtimes in its last game at the Carrier Dome, in 1999. Since then, Syracuse has defeated Princeton three straight times (twice in the NCAA tournament, once in the regular season).
More history - Since the 1992 season, Princeton is 16-0 against all other schools and 3-4 against Syracuse in the NCAA tournament.
Last history - Since the start of the 1992 season, Princeton and Syracuse have met nine times. Princeton has won four games by a total of five goals (1.3 per game), Syracuse has won five games by a total of 30 goals (6.0 per game).
Fresh face - Ryan Boyle leads Princeton in scoring with eight points (three goals, five assists). The last freshman to lead Princeton in scoring for a full season was Kevin Lowe in 1991.
Face it - Syracuse won 29 of 40 face-offs against Princeton in two games last season.
More face it - Princeton has won 18 of 50 face-offs this season.
Double play - Princeton has scored exactly twice as many goals as its opponent in each of its first three games.
Lineup card - Damien Davis and Ryan Boyle are the only two Princeton players to have started every game of their career.
Streaking - B.J. Prager has scored at least one goal in 22 straight games.
More streaking - B.J. Prager has scored at least one goal in 22 straight games. Should he score against Syracuse, he would be halfway to the Princeton record of 46 straight games, held by Chris Massey.
Ouch - B.J. Prager missed the final six games of last season after suffering a torn ACL in the first quarter against Cornell. Prager returned from that injury to score two goals in Princeton's season-opening win over Johns Hopkins, but he suffered a slight shoulder separation at the end of the game that forced him to miss the game against Virginia. Prager then returned against Hofstra to score two goals.
Role reversal - Matt Striebel had 24 goals and 55 assists (2.3 assists per goal) for his first three seasons at Princeton. He has five goals and two assists this season (2.5 goals per assist).
Veterans day - Princeton has started the same defense (longsticks Damien Davis, Ryan Mollett and Scott Farrell and goalie Trevor Tierney) in 18 straight games.
You never forget your first - Freshman Jason Doneger scored his first career goal in Princeton's win over Hofstra.
Spring training - Princeton spent five days this past week working out in Vero Beach, Fla., during the school's spring break.
Goal oriented - Sean Hartofilis and Matt Striebel are the only two Princeton players with at least one goal in each of the first three games.
Point oriented - Sean Hartofilis, Matt Striebel and Ryan Boyle are the only three Princeton players with at least one point in each of the first three games.
Busy bodies - Princeton's game against Syracuse begins a stretch of five games in 15 days.
Flag day - Princeton has been called for seven penalties for five minutes, its opponents have been called for 15 penalties for 12.5 minutes.
Back in the day - Princeton is allowing 4.3 goals per game. Should Princeton maintain that for the rest of the season, it would be the fewest goals per game allowed since the 1942 national championship team allowed 3.0 goals per game (24 in eight games).
Pipe dreams - Trevor Tierney made allowed 27 goals and made 35 saves (.565 save percentage) in two games against Syracuse last season.
In-crease - B.J. Prager leads all current Princeton players with 52 career goals. The next two players combined have 54 (Matt Striebel 29, Rob Torti 25).
Daly news - Owen Daly scored two goals in the first quarter against Hofstra. He has no goals in the other 11 quarters this season.
Honor guard - B.J. Prager has been first-team All-Ivy League each of his first two seasons. There have been 19 three-time first-team All-Ivy League selections, but no player in league history has ever been a four-time first-team selection.
Aw, shoot - Princeton's first three opponents have scored 13 goals on 94 shots, a .138 shooting percentage.
More shoot - B.J. Prager has scored 52 goals on 103 shots in his career.
A league of their own - Princeton has won 31 straight Ivy League games. The league record is 39 straight, set by Cornell from 1973-79.
More league - Princeton has won six straight Ivy League titles and eight in the last nine years.
Be all that you can be - Princeton's Josh White spent two years between high school and college in the Army.
You gotta be a football hero - Twenty-four of the 43 players on Princeton's roster played high school football.
Inside information - Princeton All-America defenseman Ryan Mollett's brother Brandon covers Division I lacrosse for Inside Lacrosse.
Oh say can you see - Midfielder Matt Bailer has sung the national anthem before Princeton basketball and lacrosse games.
Tournament tested - Matt Striebel has won the Ivy League championship and played in the NCAA tournament in both soccer and lacrosse.
Swish - Princeton defenseman Rob Gifford played on the same high school basketball team as Wally Szcerbiak of the Minnesota Timberwolves.