Women's lax notches 10th consecutive victory

Kim Smith was not having fun. The sophomore attack saw Harvard players streaking by, screaming encouragement to their teammates and spinning around stunned, silent Princeton players.

The women's lacrosse team was losing to Harvard (4-4 overall, 2-2 Ivy League) 3-0, just four minutes into the first half. Time out, Princeton.

The Tigers (11-1, 4-0) battled back grimly, gritting their teeth and grinding out goals. Smith scored, putting Princeton on the board. Then senior midfielder Hilary Maddox, two more Tigers, then Smith again. There were halfhearted high-fives and too-small smiles. Walking into the locker room with a shaky 7-5 lead at halftime, Smith knew that something was wrong.

"It was like we were doing our jobs," Smith, who scored four goals, said. "It seemed like we were just going through the motions. But then we realized there was more to it than that."

The Tigers roared out to a 14-5 lead in the second half, scoring seven straight goals and eight overall. Harvard scored one in the second half to give Princeton the 15-6 win. The Tigers are still undefeated in the Ivy League. They strung out their winning streak to a striking 10 games. They are still ranked No. 2 in the nation.

But the sparkling finish only glossed over what is quickly becoming an ingrained problem: Princeton has been inconsistent over its past few games. The opening minutes were eerily reminiscent of the first half against Temple, when the Tigers stumbled around the field, struggling to create some continuity out of a choppy beginning. This kind of uneven performance may not matter against Temple and Harvard. It will against No. 1 Maryland in 10 days.

In the first half — and particularly the initial four minutes — the Tigers seemed disjointed and, even worse, disinterested. A series of lost draws — a part of the game Princeton had practiced all week long — resulted in Crimson darts down the field and drawn-out offensive displays. A spray of first-shot attempts — all saved by Harvard goalie Nora Guyer — bounced possession back to the Crimson almost immediately.

The Tigers did not talk on defense. They did not hustle for balls. They remained confident, but became disturbed.

"In the first five minutes it wasn't our team out there," Smith said. "After that time out we played much better. But the second half you could just see the spark — and I think the spark was missing in the first half. We recognized what was going on and addressed it. Everyone agreed that we practice so much and games were supposed to be the fun part."

Clean win

At halftime, the Tigers were winning, but it was not enough. They did not want to squeak by with another sloppy victory that they would be ashamed of later. So they didn't.

They started scuffling harder for draw controls, shouldering Crimson players out of the way to scoop up the ball and sprint to transition goals. On offensive possessions, they took advantage of a thinly spread Harvard defense. Instead of sagging in and clogging the middle, the Crimson crept out into the corners of the field, covering Princeton players who skipped away from the crease, creating space for one-on-one challenges.

Six different players scored, compensating for the loss of the Tigers' second-leading scorer — sophomore attack Lauren Simone — who sprained her ankle against Temple. Simone should be back against Dartmouth this weekend.

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In the spirit of their season, multiple Tigers chipped in to cover for the absence of one, and 30 spectacular minutes remain the game's brightest image. But the first 30 remain cause for concern — though it is a predictable twist of fate for a team that is no longer the underdog, but a scrutinized national power.

"It's not that we're playing poorly, we're just having lapses," Smith said. "Being a high rank, teams are coming out fired up to play us. We need to recognize that at this point we're not going to surprise anyone."

The Tigers were as astonished as anyone at their success in the beginning of the season. Now, confident in their abilities, concentrating on the palpable possibility of a national championship, they hope the surprises are over.