Princeton University Athletics
Princeton Alums Ready For MLL Playoff Weekend
August 20, 2008 | Men's Lacrosse
History favors Philadelphia. Sentiment favors Los Angeles. Location definitely does not favor Denver. And no Princeton fan favors Rochester.
That is the Major League Lacrosse playoffs in a nutshell.
The top four MLL teams head to Harvard Stadium this weekend as top-seeded Rochester takes on fourth-seeded Philadelphia and second-seeded Denver faces third-seeded Los Angeles in the semifinals Saturday before the winners meet Sunday for the championship.
The Philadelphia-Rochester game (noon) and the final (1) will be shown live on ESPN2.
The defending champ, and the winner of the MLL title three of the last four years, is the Barrage, who sort of call Philadelphia home but who logged more than 20,000 miles to play all of their games on the road this season. The Barrage feature three Princeton grads, including two, Matt Striebel '01 and Ryan Boyle '04, who have been on the team for all three championship runs.
Striebel, who finished ninth in the league in scoring this year with 31 goals and 11 assists, was a first-team All-MLL selection and the MVP of last year's championship game. Boyle finished sixth in the league in scoring with 21 goals and 22 assists, and he was the only player in the league with at least 20 of each. Striebel and Boyle have been teammates on an NCAA championship team at Princeton and a World Championship team with Team USA in addition to their success with the Barrage. The third Princetonian on the Barrage is Peter Trombino '07, who has 15 goals and seven assists for the season.
To repeat, the Barrage will have to get past Rochester, the only team in the field without a Princeton alum. The Rattlers feature four of the top 10 scorers in the league, including MLL Offensive Player of the Year and leading scorer John Grant Jr., who put up 47 goals and 13 assists.
The other side of the draw features Los Angeles, with one Princeton player, against a Denver team with four former Tigers.
The one player on LA from Princeton is Jesse Hubbard '98, who came from the New Jersey Pride in a preseason trade to score 26 goals and add 14 assists. Hubbard, who also broke the MLL record for career goals in midseason, is the oldest Princeton alum in the league, and he has yet to play for an MLL championship. He did win three NCAA titles at Princeton, where his 163 career goals are the school record.
Denver has two Princeton alums on defense with Zachary Jungers '07 and Dan Cocoziello '08, as well as midfielders Josh Sims '00 and Peter Striebel '08. Sims missed almost the entire season due to injury but returned at the end of the regular season. Striebel, Matt's brother, went from being one of the final picks in this year's MLL draft to a valuable member of the Outlaws' midfield.
Denver's biggest struggle could be the fact that the games are being played at a place that has been unkind to the team - on the road. Denver was a perfect 6-0 at home, where it averaged nearly 11,000 fans per game and drew more than 20,000 for one game. The Outlaws are but 2-4 on the road, including a loss at last-place Chicago.