Defending champion Maryland to take on women's lacrosse

Three weeks ago, the women's lacrosse team fell into a downward spiral, losing three of its last four games. The Tigers struggled through it, going from a team that was at one point ranked second in the nation to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Then, in the Tigers' first game of the tournament, they defeated No. 12 Cornell, in the Big Red's first-ever appearance in the tournament. It ap-peared that the confidence that the team had possessed earlier in the season was returning.

That confidence was back in force when Princeton made its second trip to Hanover, N.H., to take on the team that had destroyed its hopes for an outright Ivy League championship. At the end of the regular season, Dartmouth defeated the Tigers, but in the NCAA tournament it was Princeton's turn. The Big Green fell before the mighty attack of the Tigers, and Princeton had its revenge on one of four teams to beat them this season. There were only three teams left to take down in order to gain vengeance for its four losses on its season.

Now Princeton is in the Final Four with those same three teams — Maryland, Loyola and Georgetown. First up for the Tigers are the Terrapins, a team that has not been kind to Princeton in recent years.

"It is exciting to know that you are going to face teams who have beaten you earlier in the season," senior defense Dayna Federici said. "It's our time for redemption and revenge."

When these two powerhouse teams met earlier this season, Princeton had just been handed its second loss of the season in its game against Dartmouth. But the Tigers were able to refocus before heading to College Park, Md., to meet the Terrapins. Faced with the undefeated ACC champions, Princeton played one of its best defensive games of the season, choking Maryland's super-charged offense, led by senior Jen Adams.

The game was tied at six nearing the end of the second half, when Adams finally got open and squeezed a goal past freshman goaltender Meghan McInnes. Adams' goal was the difference as the Terrapins won, 7-6.

The loss was the Tigers' 10th in a row to Maryland, a losing streak that began in the 1995 regular season — after Princeton had shelled the Terrapins in the 1994 national championship.

Now the two teams are going head-to-head in the NCAA tournament, where anything can happen. With nothing left to lose, teams leave everything out on the field, driving for a national championship. The higher stakes put considerable pressure on many teams, but the Tigers do not expect nerves to be a problem.

"The only [thing] that has changed is knowing that the stakes are higher and to be honest, that just makes things favor Princeton," Federici said. "We know how to turn it on under pressure."

Maryland also knows how to turn it up in tournament situations. In the ACC tournament in April, the Terrapins defeated conference rival and No. 4-ranked Duke, 15-12, for their fourth ACC title in five years. Maryland has already beaten No. 16 Monmouth and No. 9 Johns Hopkins in its quest for yet another national championship. The Terrapins are looking to build on six consecutive national championships, and they are hungry for their seventh. They are continuing to tweak their offense in anticipation for their game with the Tigers, who held them to their lowest scoring output of the season.

Princeton is not changing much to prepare for the showdown. Aside from continuing to work hard on their offense and defense, the Tigers are readying themselves in a different fashion — mentally. They are recovering the spirit that carried them through a 10-game winning streak in the regular season.

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"The team is not full of new life, we have just been rejuvenated," Federici said. "We know that if we give everything of ourselves on the field for each other then the tournament will be a fun and memorable experience.

"That is really all you can ask for — well, that and a national championship."