It’s been 17 matches that have spanned between Syracuse and Princeton since Tigers head coach Bill Tierney took over the helm in 1988.

Reflecting those matches, he joked in Saturday’s press conference following SU’s 7-5 upset over the No. 5 Tigers that Syracuse seems to abandon its style of play only when it faces Princeton.

He felt it showed a sign of respect toward his program, one of the traditional powerhouses in Division I lacrosse. SU, along with just about any lacrosse program in the country, certainly knows the type of success the Tigers bring. Asterisk Princeton’s 5-7 campaign last year, and instead look at how it’s captured six titles since 1992.

So certainly any game adjustment to address Princeton’s slow-paced style shows reverence toward Tigers’ capability.

But more importantly for Syracuse, it did so in order to better it chances to win. And by doing that, the Orange found the end result it wanted, improving its record to a 3-4 mark.

SU head coach John Desko hopes the victory will carry momentum into the second half of Syracuse’s schedule, similar to what happened last year when the Orange reeled a four-game winning streak beginning with Princeton after starting the season 1-3.

‘To be in the game with a team like Princeton, most times you have to play a little bit more like Princeton unless you’re really dominating the faceoffs,’ Desko said. ‘Our guys did a good job of recognizing that.

‘We adjusted our shooting a little bit and I think the guys did on the offensive end of the field. We knew they played great defense and we would have to take advantage of a couple unsettled situations. It was just the right mix of being patient offensively and taking a good shot when we did have numbers on the offensive end and in unsettled situations.’

Princeton (5-3) prides itself on dominating possessions by playing at a slow-paced tempo. The Tigers don’t care for mounting quick goals play. As long as it controls the tempo with possessions, the Tigers typically settle successfully with low-scoring affairs.But as it turned out, Syracuse abandoned its typical run-and-gun style and, instead, beat Princeton at its own game. SU started off quickly, not in terms of gunning for the cage right away, but instead establishing control. John Carrozza cleared the ball to Evan Brady after intercepting the ball on the first play of the game.

Then Brady pushed the ball up to midfielder Nathan Kenney to start the offense, as SU started to play the controlled pace. At the 12:47 mark, attackman Joe Yevoli swung around the cage, dodged left and then slung the ball into the cage for the 1-0 lead.

‘I think everyone came out tenuous in the first quarter,’ said Princeton attackman Peter Trombino, who was limited to one goal. ‘It was the first time we played here. I don’t know if it were nerves or anything. But they pushed out a little bit; which poses problems for most teams.’

Even when Princeton tied the score, 1-1, with 4:12 left in the period, it never looked like the Tigers could contend with the Orange. Inevitably, Princeton would not score often, but SU’s continuing improved communication on defense helped force the Tigers to shoot on the outside. Add 19 saves for SU goalie Pete Coluccini, and it’s obvious why Princeton found itself constantly running to find an open shot but to no avail. On three consecutive tries late in the third quarter, the Tigers failed to score. Mac Pryson hit the pipe and Coluccini saved three quick shots from Tripp Shriner, Mark Kovler and Trombino. As Syracuse attackman Brett Bucktooth saw it on the other end of the field, it seemed the Orange cage became smaller as Coluccini imagined the balls becoming bigger.

‘You try to focus as much as you can,’ Coluccini said. ‘It’s a long game. You can’t have any mental lapses where you’re not focusing. But when our offense gets the first goal, it takes a lot of pressure off me as a goalie and defense. With one up, you can try to make plays above and beyond what you can do. You’re not going to pay for it in the end. So I think the offense did a great job possessing the ball and giving us a break on defense. The confidence builds as the game goes on.’

Syracuse’s confidence continued to build, especially when it perfected running its offense. In a low-scoring affair it’s hard to credit offensive production. But even without the scoring, SU’s offense showed patience as a mix of the attack and midfield consistently contributed to how the offense ran.

‘I don’t think anyone on this team thinks they’re going to win a game on their own. We have five or six potential all-Americans on this team as well as other guys who are looking to being future All-Americans on this team,’ Bucktooth said. ‘Everyone knows they can contribute. They don’t need to go to the goal by themselves every time. They know they have other good players alongside of them.’

Published on April 7, 2006 at 12:00 pm