A weaker Maryland creates an opening for women to contend for national title

With two Final Four appearances in the last two years and a share of the Ivy title in 2001, the Princeton Tigers are unquestionably one of the elite teams in NCAA women's lacrosse.

Princeton battled its way to a 14-5 overall record and a 6-1 mark in the Ivy League last season. The Tigers took down top 10 opponents such as Virginia and Duke along with tournament-bound Penn State and Cornell before finally succumbing to Maryland, 14-7, in the NCAA semifinals.

Princeton looks to add to its history of success this season with what head coach Chris Sailer calls one of "the most balanced teams" that she has ever had.

"We are very strong both offensively and defensively," Sailer said.

The Tigers will be led on offense by senior captains Charlotte Kenworthy and Lauren Simone. Simone was named a second team All-America for the second season in a row in 2001. She led the team in overall points, goals, and assists last season, and played a major role in victories over Duke, Dartmouth and Cornell.

Kenworthy was fourth on the team in scoring in 2001 but made the most of her chances when she got them, turning in the second-highest shooting percentage of all starting attackers at 44 percent. Kenworthy also had a strong performance in the Tigers' 15-10 loss at Georgetown, notching a career-high five goals.

Although Princeton will look to their captains for leadership, Simone and Kenworthy are not the only people who can put points on the board for the Tigers.

"We have a lot of different people who can put the ball in the net," Sailer said. "It's a very balanced team."

Defensively, Princeton will most likely be led by junior Rachael Becker. The two-sport star focuses on field hockey in the fall but still managed to be named a first-team all-America in lacrosse in 2001. Becker led the Tigers in turnovers caused with 32 and picked up 45 ground balls, third on the team.

Princeton features seven seniors on the 26-member team. Sailer will look to these seniors to use their experience and provide guidance for the younger members of the team.

"We have seven seniors and those kids have been playing together for four years. A lot of them have been starting for three; we have a lot of experience out there," Sailer said.

This experience should help Princeton when the Tigers meet up with perennial nemesis Maryland on Apr. 24. The Terps captured their seventh consecutive national title in 2001, but since then they have graduated nine of their starters.

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Sailer is cautiously optimistic about her team's chances against the defending champs.

"Maryland is very good, but they're young," Sailer said.

The Tigers are currently 2-1 on the season, having suffered a difficult loss in overtime to NCAA runner-up Georgetown in their opening game. Rather than get down about the loss, however, Princeton came back strong in subsequent games with Lafayette and Loyola to put the team over .500.

The 10-6 win over Loyola was especially sweet as the Greyhounds had taken down the Tigers, 13-9, last season.

The Tigers will look to continue their recent success this week as they battle a string of top 10 opponents. Princeton will host Virginia and Duke early in the week before travelling to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions.

"We have three big game coming up in the break," Sailer said. "How we do against these teams should give us an idea of how we stand in the league."