With the rain and wind and low 60s temperatures of the past few days, if you ignored the calendar you could almost convince yourself that it's early spring and not fall.
For the women's lacrosse team, the temptation to flip the calendar forward a few pages must be even greater.
The defending national champion Tigers will take what they hope to be the first step toward another title this Saturday. The U.S. National team will travel to Princeton for the annual showdown in 1952 Stadium.
Featuring nine new faces, and without the help of seven seniors lost to graduation, the Tigers will also play without their two returning First-Team All-America selections.
Senior defender Rachael Becker and junior midfielder Theresa Sherry will miss the game as they continue their fall sport seasons — Becker with field hockey and Sherry with the still-undefeated women's soccer team.
Three former Princeton stars will play on the opposite side this time. Cristi Samaras '99, Julie Shaner '02 and Lucy Small '96 will all see time for Team USA. In last year's 11-3 National team victory, Samaras tagged the Tigers with four goals and an assist.
As it has been for the past 17 years, the team will be coached by Chris Sailer.
Sailer has amassed an impressive 199-68 record with the Tigers, and will certainly get her 200th win when the regular season starts in March.
"We're always excited and looking forward to playing the U.S. National Team," Sailer said. "We see this as a great opportunity and a test, especially this year with our team being so young. I'm looking forward to seeing our kids compete and play well."
In the 2002 regular season, the team finished 15-1 overall and went a perfect 7-0 in the Ivy League.
The lone loss was to a Georgetown team that Princeton would eventually beat for its second national championship under Sailer. After the tournament, Inside Lacrosse magazine named Becker and Lauren Simone '02 as its defensive and offensive players of the year.
The Tigers' season starts for real when the calendar actually does roll around to spring.
Patriot League team Lafayette is slated as the first game of the season for the defending NCAA champions on March 5, 2003.
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