In case there ever was a doubt, Princeton men’s lacrosse coach Bill Tierney put it to rest.

‘I don’t think there’s any question about that,’ Tierney said without hesitation when asked to certify Mike Powell as the country’s best attacker.

Last year, such a question would have elicited a chuckle. The best? What else could the nation’s leading scorer and first-team All-American and NCAA Tournament MVP and Tewaaraton Trophy winner be?

But after Powell scored one goal in No. 3 Syracuse’s first two games, critics began chirping like crickets. Two games later, Powell has crushed the criticism, scoring five goals against Fairfield on March 10 and four more last Saturday versus Johns Hopkins. Tomorrow against No. 7 Princeton at 1 p.m., Powell will try to keep the naysayers quiet and the Carrier Dome crowd on its feet.

‘(Doubters are) always in the back of my mind,’ Powell said. ‘I still have things to prove for the rest of the season.’

Last season, he proved himself a champion, collecting a game-high seven points (four goals, three assists) against Princeton in the NCAA championship game, which Syracuse won, 13-12.

Tomorrow, Princeton will counter Powell with the same multi-pronged defensive strategy, using defenseman Damien Davis as the centerpiece. The athletic Davis, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound senior, possesses the speed and athleticism to stick with Powell.

Even so, the Tigers (1-2) will give Davis help and use a number of slide packages. When that happens, the Orangemen (3-1) will hope one Tiger pounces too slowly, leaving an open man.

That means Powell may become a feeder, something he’s done lately, anyway. Against Johns Hopkins, Powell dished four assists.

“I started to do some other things,’ Powell said. ‘I’ve got a lot of ground balls. That turns into goals.’

Seems that way, given Powell’s four-goal outburst versus Johns Hopkins. With Syracuse trailing, 8-3, in the second half, Powell posted three consecutive goals. His fourth gave the Orangemen an 11-8 fourth-quarter lead.

‘It’s pretty unbelievable,’ SU attacker Brian Nee said. ‘We try not to watch and pay attention to other things. But it’s hard not to watch.’

Said SU midfielder Sean Lindsay: “People were writing him off, saying, ‘What’s wrong with Powell?’ People get tired of reading that stuff. He’s gone out and proved the critics wrong, showed them he’s the best out there.’

But he’s not alone out there. On March 1, Virginia keyed on Powell and shut him out. But the Orangemen still put up 15 goals in a losing effort.

Senior attacker Mike Springer leads Syracuse with 12 goals and 11 assists, while Nee and freshman Brian Crockett each have 11 points. The midfield has chipped in, too, led by 10 goals from Lindsay.

This week, the Syracuse offense — which has scored at least 15 goals every game this season — becomes even deeper with the return of attacker Liam Banks, who missed SU’s first three games with a shoulder injury.

He and Powell will reunite for the first time since the 2001 season, when they combined for 46 goals and 74 assists.

‘You’re going to concentrate more on Mike Powell than the rest of the group and see what the rest of the group can do, especially early in the season,’ SU head coach John Desko said. ‘We’re still trying to find ourselves, and if we’re still trying to find ourselves, it’s impossible for teams to know what to expect from us.’

Published on March 20, 2003 at 12:00 pm