W. lax shows Ivy dominance with 10-3 pounding of Penn

It was a night for the record books.

With last night's 10-3 win over unranked Penn (7-6 overall, 3-2 Ivy League), No. 1 Princeton (12-0, 4-0) secured its 21st straight win dating back to last April, a new Princeton women's lacrosse record.

Senior attack Theresa Sherry also further established herself in the record books. Her four goals helped her climb to third place in career goals at Princeton with 145.

Just a day after the Penn men's lacrosse team gave the Tigers a scare, the Princeton women made much easier work of the Quaker women's squad. On a drizzly, windy and altogether miserable Wednesday night, the Tigers dominated from start to finish.

Princeton's leading scorer, junior midfielder Lindsey Biles, was relatively quiet on Tuesday, although she did net the Tigers' 10th and final goal. But the deep Princeton squad found other offensive weapons, namely Sherry and freshman midfielder Kathleen Miller.

However, offense was not the determining factor in the win.

"I think that was about as good a defensive game as we've ever played," head coach Chris Sailer said. "The last two games have been fantastic defensively."

Continuing the Tigers' trend of explosive starts, Sherry and Miller kicked off a strong first half that effectively buried Penn.

Though Quaker goalkeeper Liz Lorelli made several excellent saves, she couldn't stop Princeton's onslaught singlehandedly. Sherry and Miller each netted three goals in the first half as the Tigers went on a 6-0 run to open the game.

Penn's lone goal of the first half came with five minutes, two seconds remaining in that period. The Tigers took a 7-1 lead into halftime, however, after Sherry's third score of the night.

Sherry and Miller combined for seven of the Tigers' 10 goals on the night, with Sherry contributing four and Miller three.

Miller gave credit to her teammate and captain for creating the offensive momentum.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"When [Sherry] gets mad, if we need a goal, she'll go in there and do it, and there's just a chain reaction," Miller said. The unsung heroes of the game, however, were Princeton's defensive players who effectively stifled the Penn offense. Sophomore defender Lauren Vance, junior goaltender Sarah Kolodner and the rest of the Tiger defense kept the Quakers off the board for the first 25 minutes of the game. In fact, Penn was not able to fire a shot until 13 minutes into the first half.

The second half was played at a slightly slower pace, as Princeton's main objective was to prevent a Quaker run that would threaten the Tigers' lead. Sherry again netted the first goal of the stanza, and two late Penn goals offset two more from the home team.

Princeton couldn't have been happier with many aspects of its game on Wednesday.

"I think our transition was right on. Our communication and movement and sight out on the field was just there," Miller said.

The 10-3 win is further proof why Princeton belongs as the No. 1 team in the nation, unanimously selected by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association for each of the last six weeks.

Princeton takes its streak up to Cambridge, Mass., for another contest against an unranked Ivy competitor. Harvard (5-6, 0-3) dropped a close one-goal contest to Penn on Saturday and lost to New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Midfielders Jen Brooks and Casey Owens — who has a team-high 25 goals on the season — and attack Catherine Sproul lead the Crimson offensive charge.

"They have a pretty well-balanced attack," Sailer said.

But if the Princeton defense maintains its no-nonsense attitude, Harvard will rarely get a look at the net.

The Crimson defense also will have a hard time controlling the multifaceted Tiger offense. With Sherry, Biles and Miller in the lineup, among others, goalie Kathryn Tylander will have shots flying at her from all angles.

Although Harvard is not having a stellar league season, Princeton cannot count them out.

"I think they're having the best season they've had in a number of years," Sailer said. "So like every team, they're going to come ready to try and knock us off."