W. lacrosse trounces Le Moyne in NCAA tournament opener

With the Ivy League title already in hand, the women's lacrosse team began its quest for its second national title yesterday at Class of 1952 Stadium. No. 2 Princeton hosted Le Moyne College in the opening round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament and quickly made the visitors feel unwelcome, scoring early and often on their way to an NCAA-record 25 goals in one tournament game, and a 25-3 victory.

Princeton opened up the scoring only 54 seconds into the game when senior captain Lauren Simone fed junior attack Whitney Miller for the 1-0 lead.

The Tigers ripped the ball past Le Moyne goalie Brandy Payne 10 more times before the Dolphins even registered their first possession of the game. The Dolphins made that possession count, however, as junior Amanda Daniels sprinted down the middle of the field and rifled a shot past the Tiger goaltender to cut the Princeton lead to 10.

That is as close as Le Moyne would be able to get. Princeton denied the Dolphins any dreams of a comeback by winning 26 of 30 draws and pouncing on any loose balls. The few times that Le Moyne gained control of the ball it was promptly taken away by a well-timed Tiger check or interception, and the Dolphins crossed the 50 yard-line only five times the entire game.

Princeton dominated so thoroughly in part because the Tigers received excellent play from all members of the team. With the starters on the bench from the beginning of the second half, players who do not usually see as much action were given the ability to showcase their talents.

"Today really showed the depth of our team," head coach Chris Sailer said. "We have such great quality players all the way down through the roster."

Princeton's depth was demonstrated on the score sheet, as 15 different Tigers scored in the game. Leading the way with assists was Simone, who tied the Princeton record for five assists in one game set in 1995 by Crista Samaras '99. The individual record did not mean much to Simone, however.

"The only thing that means anything to me is winning the national championship," Simone said. "That's a good enough record."

The Tigers will take one more step towards accomplishing just that when they take on the winner of the game between Notre Dame and Ohio State on Sunday at Class of 1952 Stadium.