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Women's lax pounds hapless Columbia

After a demanding early season schedule in which the women's lacrosse team played its first four games against teams ranked in the Top 10 in the country, Princeton was in need of a break.

They got that break in the form of an 18-0 trouncing of lowly Columbia yesterday afternoon at Wein Stadium in New York.

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Senior goalie Laura Field made five saves in the first half and was relieved by junior Jennie Platt who saved two shots in her first collegiate action after taking over at the beginning of the second half.

The shutout was the first one in the 27-year history of Princeton's program and serves as a good building block going into the Ivy season.

"We didn't know it was the team's first shutout, but that just makes a win like this extra special," sophomore attack Kim Smith said.

This was the opening game on both of the teams' Ivy League slates, and was a good indicator of how the No. 4-ranked Tigers (4-1 overall, 1-0 Ivy) will have to play if they are to take back the Ivy championship from Dartmouth.

However, Columbia (3-1, 0-1) continued its futility within the Ivy League, picking up its 15th-straight loss since upgrading its team to varsity status three years ago. While the Lions' record coming into the game was a gaudy 3-0, it had not come against the same caliber of competition that the Tigers have faced so far.

"It was good that we were able to play our best even though the competition was not the best," Smith said.

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That Ivy season takes on special importance this year, since for the first time, the league champion will get an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Smith and fellow sophomore attack Lauren Simone were the offensive leaders scoring five and four goals respectively. It was a day when every player was able to get good opportunities to score as the Tigers put 32 shots on Columbia goalkeeper Gina Kline.

"It was nice to see everybody get to go in and get some playing time," Smith said.

The big early lead gave Princeton the chance to play its younger players for the first time this season after four close early-season games.

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The future looks bright as freshman defender Summer Crabtree netted two goals. Freshman midfielder Whitney Miller scored once and made two nice passes for assists, and freshman attack Liza Hillenbrand also had a pair of assists.

The offensive onslaught was helped by sophomore midfielder Mimi Hammerberg, sophomore attack Charlotte Kenworthy and junior attack Julie Shaner, who each notched two goals in the blowout. With eight players finding the back of the net, Princeton continued to show the balanced attack that has been its trademark this season.

The Tigers travel to Penn State Saturday to take on the No. 13 Nittany Lions in another tough non-league game. The game will be a rematch of last year's NCAA tournament quarterfinals, where Princeton was knocked out by the squad from State College, Pa.