Twenty game win streak snapped as w. lax loses

When a team wins 20 games in a row, that team is undeniably beyond good. A winning streak leads this team to forget what it is to lose.

But winning streaks, like all good things, must end.

This sad fact was the case for the women's lacrosse team Sunday afternoon. The Tigers lost their first game since their 2002 season opener — falling, 9-8, to No. 5 Loyola. In a game that went all the way to the triple overtime period of sudden death, the Tigers certainly did not relinquish their streak without a fight.

Princeton controlled the first half, leading 4-2. Though this was not exactly the 10-0 score posted against Lafayette last week, it still marked a solid performance on the part of the Tigers against one of the nation's best.

The Greyhounds, however, bounded into the second half hunting for goals. By the 11 minute and 45 second mark, they had held the Tigers to zero goals, slung two of their own, and off a free shot took their first lead of the game, 5-4.

Soon after, senior attack Whitney Miller retaliated with a free shot that evened the score.

But four minutes and two Loyola goals later, the Tigers found themselves in an uncomfortable and entirely unusual position — down by two with two minutes left in regulation. The clock ticked away as junior midfield Theresa Sherry took possession of the ball and forced her way goal-ward. The ball slid past the Loyola goalie and narrowed the spread to one.

In a display characeristic of a No.1-ranked team sophomore midfield Elizabeth Pillion, standing behind the goal, found senior attack Sarah Small cutting towards her. Small caught the pass, shot, and scored, sending the game to overtime.

Loyola's freshman Sidney Green was the hero of the first three-minute overtime period. With a pass from junior Rachel Shuck, she slung the ball past sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Kolodner and gave the Greyhounds a one-point lead.

Sherry, then, was the Tigers' hero in the next three-minute period. With 40 seconds on the clock, the ball slipped recklessly out of her stick, and the game — not to mention the fans — seemed to be taking a last breath. But somehow she managed to scoop the ball up off the bounce and put it away.

Unfortunately, after the second overtime, the next team to score wins. A goal by Loyola's sophomore midfielder Talia Shacklock 55 seconds into the final period sentenced the Tigers and their winning streak to a sudden death.