Goaltender Kolodner heads up strong women's lacrosse defense

It's déjà vu all over again for the players and coaches of the women's lacrosse team as they kick off their 2004 season.

In 1995, after Princeton had earned its first national title in 1994, its home opener was against Lafayette. The Tigers won that contest in decisive fashion, absolutely dominating the Leopards while cruising to a 15-1 victory. In 2003, the team started the season with the No. 1 ranking as the defending national champion, played Lafayette in the home opener and left the field with the victory. Tonight, the Tigers will again start the season as defending national champions and ranked No. 1 in the nation, and again their opening night foe is the Leopards. Consequently, all signs are propitious for Princeton in this evening's season opening game against Lafayette.

"We want to come out hard and maintain a high level of play throughout the entire game," senior attack Theresa Sherry said. "[The team's objectives are] staying focused and taking care of every little detail."

Last year, in a game that held tremendous sentimental value for Princeton, the Tigers defeated the Leopards for the eighth straight time. The 15-6 victory was the 200th career win amassed by head coach Chris Sailer. Princeton never trailed while preventing Lafayette from getting off a single shot on goal in the first half and scoring 10 goals of its own on 16 shots.

The game marked an inauspicious start to a disappointing season for the Leopards. After a 2002 season in which Lafayette secured a bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Patriot League, the Leopards experienced a diametrically opposed 2003 campaign. They finished with a dismal 3-13 overall record.

Looking at the Tigers' experienced and talented roster, it is difficult to determine a single weak area that Lafayette can effectively attack. Not only does Princeton retain eight returning starters from last year's championship game, but the team also boasts All-American talent on attack, in the midfield and on the defensive end.

Expect the Tigers to put forth impressive offensive numbers against the Leopards. While Lafayette scored only half the number of goals as its opponents and gave up an average of more than 12 goals per game last season, Princeton averaged more than 11 goals per game, capitalizing on almost 50% of its shots. The Tigers also have the luxury of knowing that they have three experienced snipers who can be called upon to put the game out of reach. Sherry and junior midfielders Elizabeth Pillion and Lindsey Biles all scored over 30 goals last season.

If junior attack Leigh Slonaker and senior attack Tara Hardiman can increase their offensive production, Princeton will have a completely balanced and explosive attack that has the potential to exploit the defense of any opponent.

With junior Sarah Kolodner, a three-year starter, in net and a stifling defense led by senior Katie Norbury in front of her, Princeton will complicate any comeback attempts by the Leopards, particularly if they fall behind early.

"We are confident going into our first game," Sherry said, "because we feel that we have been working hard to prepare for our season."

This game should be one in which the full Tiger roster is utilized, giving the coaches an opportunity to see what kind of contributions they can expect from the younger players.

The one factor that could derail Princeton is the potential tendency to look past this game to its next three matchups against perennially difficult Loyola, Virginia and Duke. The Tigers are wary of this and know that every game factors equally into their final record. The quest for an NCAA national championship three-peat is earned one game at a time.