Going for a record 21-straight wins, w. lacrosse hosts Penn

For women's lacrosse fans, 21 is the number to keep in mind tonight as the Tigers (11-0 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) find themselves one victory away from setting a new program record for consecutive wins. But 60 is the only number the players care about. Taking things one game at a time, the Tigers' concentration will be on the 60 minutes of effort and hard work that will be required to earn a win over Penn (7-5, 3-1) tonight.

"I never really think about that," head coach Chris Sailer said in response to questions about whether or not she was concerned with breaking the record. "You [the press] are always the ones bringing it up. I'm sure it would be nice for the team to be able to do that."

The game, which begins at 7:30 at Class of 1952 Stadium, should be tough but winnable for Princeton. When the teams matched up last season, the Tigers walked away with a 13-8 victory.

In that game, Princeton's ultimate victory came from an early 3-0 start and a steady stream of goals from then-sophomores midfielders Lindsey Biles and Elizabeth Pillion, and attack Leigh Slonaker.

This year the Tiger offense continues to look strong with a host of high-scoring players. The offense is led by sniper Biles, whose to-date goal total for the season is a whopping 36. She is joined by 20-plus goal scorers senior attack Theresa Sherry and Pillion, who have 28 and 22, respectively.

Tonight's game will also give Sherry a special opportunity, that of sliding into fourth place all-time at Princeton for goals scored. She needs only two goals to surpass Kim Smith '02's 142-goal total.

On the other end of the field, Princeton's defense will find itself in good hands with junior goalie Sarah Kolodner minding the net. Kolodner's 13-save performance against Yale last Saturday helped ensure the victory.

"We're trying to run a team-oriented defense and a fluid attack as well," Kolodner explained about tonight's strategy.

With a predictably strong offensive and defensive showing from the Tigers, the Quakers will have to work hard to overcome the Orange-and-Black as it defends its home turf.

Indeed, Penn's statistics seem to fall short across the board. Although Penn possesses many talented scorers, the Quakers' leading offensive forces — Emily Cochran, Chrissy Muller, and Lindsey Cassidy — lead the team with 21, 18, and 17 goals respectively, far lower than the Tiger totals.

Although the top scorers may not be as proficient as the Tigers, the Quakers' scoring is distributed evenly among its offensive starters. This will mean that Princeton will have to have good general defensive coverage.

"We know Penn is a good team. They have some good players, but I don't think there is any particular person we're looking to try to stop," Sailer explained.

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Defensively, the Quakers are strong but not dominating. In the net, Liz Lorelli leads the league with 103 saves, but her .523 save percentage doesn't equal Kolodner's .563.

The Tigers, however, are just as interested in these sorts of statistics as they are with records — not at all.

"It's not really something we think about," Kolodner said. "We really just want to take each game for what it is."

In spite of the disparity between the two teams, Penn has shown a remarkable ability to stay in the running. Although the Quakers are unranked nationally, compared to Princeton's No. 1, they recently came back from a 7-4 halftime deficit to claim a 10-9 win over Harvard and dropped a close 9-8 double overtime decision to Penn State after rallying from a 4-1 halftime deficit.