For a team that has won each of its past three matches by an average margin of 11 goals, Princeton's 16-12 victory over Cornell at 1952 Stadium Satur-day afternoon was the closest game it has had in a while.
"Cornell never gave up. They made us commit a lot of turnovers," senior attack Kim Smith said.
In total, No. 2 Princeton committed 13 turnovers, ten of which were caused by the No. 9 Big Red.
What's more, Cornell took four more shots than the Tigers and scooped up 23 ground balls compared to Princeton's 14.
And compared to last Wednesday's 17-1 slaughter over Columbia, in which 13 different players scored, half of the scoring this time came from the team's veterans.
True to form, Smith, who missed last Wednesday's game against Columbia, and sophomore midfielder Theresa Sherry netted four goals each, combining for half of the Tigers' final 16.
Senior attack Lauren Simone also contributed three, and senior midfielder Mimi Hammerberg added two.
One minute, 30 seconds into the game, Sherry gave the Tigers an early lead with a quick cut past the defense and a slick shot into the back of the net.
But two free shots later for Cornell, which attack Sarah Averson converted into goals, followed by another from midfielder Jaime Quinn, the Tigers found themselves behind 3-1.
Sherry and Hammerberg, however, were quick to close the deficit. A goal each brought the score to an even 3-3 at the 23:00 mark.
This neck-and-neck exchange continued for seven more minutes until Simone broke open a scoring run that would last five minutes and would give Princeton five unanswered goals.
At halftime, Princeton was ahead 9-6, and just sixteen seconds into the second half, Smith slid the ball into the net for her second goal of the game.
Ten seconds later, senior attack Charlotte Kenworthy scored the team's 11th goal, and one minute after that freshman midfielder Lindsay Biles put in the 12th.
The remainder of the match pitted an offensive face-off between the two teams, as Cornell answered four more Princeton goals with six of its own. But the gap created by Princeton's first-half scoring streak proved too wide for the Big Red to close.
Defensively, junior Rachael Becker led the back line, causing three turnovers, picking up a ground ball and winning a draw control.
In goal, freshman Sarah Kolodner played the first half and sophomore Megan McInnis played the last for the second-straight game. They had three saves and six saves, respectively.
The loss was Cornell's first this season. Princeton advanced to 2-0 in the Ivy League (7-1 overall).
Although her fourth goal of the game with 11:12 remaining brought her season tally to a team-high of 20 goals, Smith attributes the Tigers' success to teamwork.
"It was a team effort across the board," she said. "We hope to build from this game."
The Tigers have a chance to do that Wednesday, when they return to Class of 1952 Stadium to take on Delaware.
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