Women's lacrosse holds top spot with win over Temple, 16-8

If the women's lacrosse team stopped scoring after eight goals in yesterday's contest against Temple in Philadelphia, the game would have ended in a rather disappointing 8-8 tie for the Tigers.

The team did stop scoring at eight goals, but just for five minutes — that is, for halftime. With eight goals on the scoreboard after the game's first 30 minutes, and the Tigers up by a cozy seven goal lead, Princeton let up, but not too much, in the final 30 minutes. The team surrendered seven goals but put up eight of its own in the second half en route to a 16-8 win.

Senior attack Lauren Simone led the Tigers in scoring, netting five goals, picking up five ground balls and assisting for two. The senior scored four of five of her goals in the game's first 15 minutes.

"My teammates really set me up for some good shots," Simone said. "This team has so many scoring threats and that enables us to go to the hot hand."

Sophomore attack Theresa Sherry also added two goals in the quarter to put the Tigers up 6-1 early in the game.

Sherry has been on fire this season from the midfield position. The Baltimore native was named the Ivy League's offensive player of the week for her performance last week. Most notably, she scored four goals and an assist in the team's 11-5 win over Ivy league rival Yale, the team's ninth straight win. Sherry finished the week with five goals and two assists. The three goals she scored on the night give her a season total of 28, good for a season total of 37 points. Sherry currently leads the Tigers — and the Ivy League — in goals and points, and her offensive Player of the Week honor was her second selection in as many weeks.

By halftime, the Tigers were up 8-1. Senior attack Charlotte Kenworthy and senior midfielder Mimi Hammerberg finished off the first half scoring to give Princeton the comfortable seven-goal lead. The large first-half lead has been common for the team all season. The Tigers have thus far netted 89 first-half goals, allowing just 34 goals against them in the opening half.

Though Temple opened up the second half with three unanswered goals, the Tigers remained strong. With a handful of seniors combining for the Tigers early scoring efforts, it was a bunch of underclassmen that finished the deal. Sherry scored once more eight minutes in, while freshman midfielder Lindsey Biles scored three goals in the second half, one coming off a feed from Sherry.

The Tigers spread the love, at least scoring-wise, in the match. Though Simone dominated early, with four goals in the first quarter, Biles, Kenworthy, and Sherry all finished with three, while Hammerberg netted one and junior attack Sarah Small also had one, giving her four on the season.

Despite the game's relative insignificance — not only was Princeton matched up against an out-of-conference opponent, but an opponent in Temple ranked just on the fringe of the country's top 20 — the win preserved a number of significant achievements for the team. Princeton extended its winning streak to 10 games, and on top of that preserved its No. 1 national ranking. The Tigers improve their overall record to 10-1, with the team's only loss having come in the opening game of the season, a 15-13 loss to Georgetown.

"Anytime you are ranked as one of the top teams in the country, other teams are looking for an opportunity to get a significant win," head coach Chris Sailer said.