At Memorial Field on Saturday Princeton showed why it is the number one team in both the Ivy League and the country, gaining a lopsided 18-6 victory over Dartmouth.
The Tiger offense, which is the third most prolific in the country averaging 16 goals per game, features one of the most talented attack lines in the country.
All three of the starting attackmen have over 40 points so far this season, and each player gave a strong performance on Saturday. The sophomore trio of Jesse Hubbard (2 goals, 3 assists), John Hess (3 goals, 2 assists) and Chris Massey (3 goals, 3 assists) set the tone for the fast-paced offense.
However, the Tigers are far from a one-dimensional team. In addition to their super sophomore attack line, a host of middies contributed to Princeton's offensive juggernaut.
Jason Osier (3 goals, 1 assist), Don McDonough (2 goals, 1 assist) and Mark Whaling (2 goals) added depth to the Tiger offense.
"This is probably the most explosive talent they've ever had. They can go to a number of guys," Dartmouth Coach Tim Nelson said.
Although the Big Green defense was able to match up well for most of the game against Princeton, the Tiger offense had too much talent, and they were able to wear down the Dartmouth defense for several offensive spurts.
For example, Dartmouth held Princeton to two goals during the first 13:52 of the second quarter, but then Princeton scored three goals in the final 1:08 of the second quarter.
Although the final score does not show it, the game was very closely contested throughout. Dartmouth nearly matched Princeton in every statistic except for shots on goal and time of possession. Unfortunately for the Big Green, these two factors determined the course of the game.
Princeton used a ball-control offense and aggressive defense to make sure that Dartmouth would not have any opportunities to go on any spurts of its own.
As many local citizens will tell you, some things never change in Hanover, and junior Scott Hapgood's performance attested to that statement, as he earned yet another hat trick.
Dartmouth also demonstrated its well-balanced offense with three other attackmen (namely, Scott Watts '97, Tom Scott '96 and Tim Caban '96) each contributing a goal.
The game marked an important day for Big Green lacrosse, as 10 seniors played their last game at Memorial Field.
The seniors each have contributed to the turnaround of the Dartmouth lacrosse program.
Four years ago, as this senior class played its first games for the Big Green, Dartmouth did not win a single Ivy League game. This season, however, the squad has been ranked as high as 16th in the country.
For the final week of its season Dartmouth faces instate foe UNH and the 10th ranked team in the country, Harvard.
