W. lacrosse shuts out Lafayette in first half, rolls to 15-6 victory

What can a team that finished last season on a 19-game winning streak, won the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship and paid a visit to President Bush in the offseason possibly do that could begin to match up to its former feats?

Demolishing its first opponent to continue the nation's longest win streak is not a bad start.

The women's lacrosse team (1-0) opened its 2003 season Wednesday by destroying Lafayette (0-1), 15-6, in a game that was nowhere near as close as the score suggests.

With the win, head coach Chris Sailer earned her 200th career victory in just over 16 seasons. Her teams have been ranked in the top 10 in the nation for at least part of each of those seasons.

"It was really special to be a part of that," senior captain Rachael Becker said. "It was great to get that for her. We came out and played really well tonight, we were very focused."

The No. 1 Tigers were ready to play from the opening whistle. Senior midfielder Alex Fiore put Princeton on the board only one minute, 22 seconds into the first half when she received the pass on the right side of the fan, cradled high and charged towards the net, ripping a high shot past the Leopards' freshman goaltender Tracey Williams.

Williams was not in for an easy night, as junior attacker Theresa Sherry followed up only 27 seconds later with a goal of her own at 1:49. Princeton dominated time of possession throghout the first half. The Tigers repeatedly caused turnovers in Lafayette's defensive end, and Princeton's suffocating defense prevented the Leopards from carrying the ball over midfield.

The Tigers kept up the energy for the entire first half, gaining possession and driving hard to the net. They got what would eventually be the game winner at 12:20 when junior attacker Katie Yakulis received a pass from junior midfielder Mary Beth Hogan rolling around the left side of the crease and buried it for the 7-0 Tiger lead.

The Princeton defense was anchored in goal in the first half by sophomore goaltender Sarah Kolodner. Kolodner had a perfect 18-0 record when starting in goal for the Tigers, and she was not even tested last night as Princeton outshot Lafayette by a margin of 16-0 in the first half.

"Kolodner makes playing defense really easy," Becker said. "She allows us to take chances because we know we've got someone so great back there."

With the Tigers up, 10-0, at halftime, Sailer replaced Kolodner with senior rookie Kelly Sosa. Sosa made five saves in the second half, as Princeton relaxed and Lafayette was able to threaten for the first time.

Princeton was actually outscored in the second half, 6-5. The Tigers held onto the ball and opted not to shoot during most of their trips into the 12-meter arc, secure with what would eventually become a nine-goal margin of victory.

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The Tigers will not be able to glide through all of their games like this, however. On Sunday, Princeton hosts No. 5 Loyola, and the team travels to No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Virginia over spring break.

"I think it's good that we have those games coming up," Becker said. "It's a great way to challenge ourselves early. Playing tough teams early can only help us later on. We're definitely not settling for one national championship."