Women's lacrosse held onto its undefeated record over a snowy Spring Break, maintaining its top spot in the NCAA rankings in the process.
Over the past week, the Tigers earned wins over three schools in the top 20 of March 14 Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association poll. Virginia, Duke and Penn State each fell victim to the 5-0 Princeton squad.
The No. 5 Cavaliers (5-2, 2-0 ACC) could not recover after they fell behind the Tigers late in the game. Princeton held on for a 12-9 win on the first Sunday of the break.
Led by explosive attack Amy Appelt and her three goals, Virginia kept the game close until the final moments of the first half. The two teams were deadlocked at four when Princeton found the net three times in the last six minutes for the 7-4 halftime lead.
Appelt's fifth consecutive hat trick was not enough to spark a Cavalier upset. The Tigers built an insurmountable six-goal lead, 12-6, on senior attack Theresa Sherry's fifth goal of the game. Freshman midfielder Kathleen Miller, junior attack Lindsey Biles and senior attack Tara Hardiman added a pair of goals apiece for the team.
Virginia went on a three-goal surge in the final nine minutes, but Princeton kept its composure under the burst of offensive pressure. Junior goalie Sarah Kolodner made seven of her nine stops in the second half to make sure the Cavaliers didn't gain too much ground.
Three days later, the Tigers hosted the No. 4 Blue Devils (5-3) on a snowy Wednesday evening. Duke couldn't seem to handle the cold or opponents' stingy defense.
Princeton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead that started with a Hardiman goal, but the Blue Devils didn't let the Tigers hold that advantage for long. Duke tied the game at three before Princeton added two more for the 5-3 halftime lead.
The Tigers expanded their lead in the second half on two goals from senior midfield Liza Hillenbrand. Ahead 8-5 with five minutes remaining, Princeton put the game away with four more unanswered goals.
Biles' four goals led a well-balanced Tiger offense. Besides Hillenbrand, four other Princeton players posted goals against the Blue Devils.
The 12-5 victory proved the Tigers can run away from even the NCAAs toughest competitors. But one more contest against No. 18 Penn St. (1-5) separated Princeton from a perfect Spring Break.
For the third straight game, the Tigers pulled away from a tied game to earn the win. Though Princeton got off to an early 6-1 lead, with 15 minutes remaining in the game, Penn St. tied the contest at seven. It looked as if the Nittany Lions presented a true challenge to the Tigers' perfect record. The scare of an upset motivated top-ranked Princeton for a late-game run.
Sherry tallied her first goal of the night to begin the Tiger surge. She chalked up two more within 10 seconds of each other to add to what would become a 6-0 run in those final 15 minutes. Penn St. goaltender Lee Tortorelli, who had 12 saves on the afternoon, was overwhelmed by the late flurry of Princeton shots.
Sherry's hat trick, combined with a pair of goals from each of Miller, Biles and junior midfield Elizabeth Pillion led the way in the 13-7 Tiger win.
Over the break Princeton learned how to keep its composure in the face of comebacks from its opponent.
"Getting scored on five times like in the Penn St. game, that's a reality check that tells us we need to pick up our game," Pillion said.
With the toughest stretch of their non-league schedule finished, the Tigers are eager to keep their winning streak going against Columbia and Georgetown later this week.
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