Penn plays women's lax close, but Tigers prove too tough

For 30 minutes, the women's lacrosse team's perfect Ivy League record, high national ranking and nine-game winning streak were all under serious assault from a highly unlikely opponent.

Penn trotted off the field in Philadelphia at halftime holding a 3-2 lead over Princeton, which is ranked No. 3 nationally. The second half proceeded true to form, however, as the Tigers overwhelmed the Quakers by scoring the first six goals after the break to take an 8-3 lead. The teams would then trade goals over the last 11 minutes to end the game at 10-5.

Entering the game, the Quakers (6-7 overall) were 2-3 in the Ivy League — good for sixth place — and were not ranked among the top 20 teams in the nation. Dartmouth slaughtered the Quakers in their last game April 13, 14-4. The Tigers (11-1, 5-0), on the other hand, were nearly unchallenged in their four Ivy League wins.

Undaunted, Penn played Princeton scoreless for the first eight minutes of the game before actually striking first, as Quaker junior Jen Hartman slipped a shot past Princeton keeper Meghan McInnes. Princeton would retaliate within a minute on an unassisted goal from junior attack Kim Smith and then take the lead three minutes later off the stick of freshman midfielder Theresa Sherry.

But with Penn goalie Alaina Harper turning in a phenomenal performance, Princeton could not sustain the rally. Harper racked up a career-high 20 saves on the game. Behind Harper's efforts, the Quakers would have the upper hand in the low-scoring first half. Junior Traci Marabella scored the go-ahead goal with just over a minute to play in the half.

Princeton appeared to be fed up with the close competition coming out of the locker room to start the second half. Six different Tigers scored in the first 12 minutes of the second half, all before a single Quaker could find the back of the net.

Over the last 18 minutes of the half, the game reverted to its slow pace. Penn scored with 11 minutes to play to pull back to within four, but Princeton quickly replied with two more goals to take a 10-4 lead with six minutes to play. The Tigers would then coast to the closing horn, allowing one final goal along the way.

Though the scoring was done by a number of different Tigers, all were familiar faces. Senior attack Lauren Simone was Princeton's leading scorer with a goal and two assists. Smith, junior attack Charlotte Kenworthy, senior midfielder Julie Shaner and sophomore attack Whitney Miller had two goals apiece, and junior midfielder Mimi Hammerberg added one.

With the win, Princeton has won its five Ivy League games by an average of 5.2 goals per game, though the statistic was somewhat skewed by the Tigers' 18-3 thumping of Columbia March 27. Penn drops to 2-4 in the Ivy League, having compiled a minus-15 goal differential over the year.