Title game loss motivates Princeton

Last season did not end the way the women's lacrosse team had hoped — with another national championship. Instead, the Tigers suffered a shocking loss to Virginia in the NCAA title game at Princeton Stadium.

Despite an undefeated regular season and a 19-1 final record, the bitter taste of that lone loss lingered in the minds of both coaches and players during the off-season.

On Saturday evening, though, all dwelling on the past will have to come to an end as No. 2 Princeton plays its first game of the 2005 season against No. 6 Johns Hopkins, the first time the two powerhouse programs have ever met.

It has been three years since the Tigers last entered a season without the title of defending national champion, but this team has no reason to press the panic button. With three All-Americans returning to the squad and a three-year starter defending the cage, head coach Chris Sailer's team looks primed for yet another run to the Final Four, a place it has been in each of the past five seasons.

This off-season has also been much different than in years past for another reason. The team traveled to Australia for nearly two weeks in December. While there, in addition to sightseeing and building team chemistry, Princeton played three games against the highly-competitive Australian national team.

"It was really good to have that trip to get kids experienced against high-level competition and for us to see who was going to step up and for the kids to learn how to adjust to the things that happen on the field," Sailer said.

Despite popular belief, Sailer recognizes that the team is, in fact, inexperienced.

"We are much younger this year than we've been in the past," Sailer said. "I think we really only have three kids on our team this year who have started more than one year."

Sailer will be counting on three key seniors — attack Lindsey Biles, midfielder Elizabeth Pillion and goalie Sarah Kolodner — to lead by example.

"We are clearly going to be relying on those experienced, battle-tested kids to really lead the way and perform in the big games," Sailer said. "We need those kids to come ready to play everyday, to be at their top level and to be great examples on the field with their work ethic, with their mentality and with their positive talk and encouragement to everybody else."

First-team All-Americans Biles and Pillion will look to lead the Tigers offensively this season as well. Princeton's leading scorer in 2004 with 55 goals, Biles finished only one goal shy of Cristi Samaras's school single-season goal mark of 56. She also became only the third player in Tiger history to score at least 70 points in a season. Biles will be a frontrunner for the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's best player.

Meanwhile, Pillion was Princeton's leader in both groundballs (48) and draw controls (44), in addition to finishing third on the Tigers with 34 goals and 51 points. One of the fastest players in the country, Pillion will also challenge for the nation's top player award.

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"This season, I just want to do everything that I can to make sure our team reaches our optimum potential," Pillion said. "I try and approach my leadership role as naturally as possible. Being a leader shouldn't be something forced. It's engrained inside of you, so I simply try and embrace it."

Helping Biles on attack will be two other seniors, Ingrid Goldberg and Leigh Slonaker. Goldberg, who started 14 games, had 15 goals in her breakout season last year. Slonaker has not started since 2003, a year in which she had 27 goals and helped Princeton bring home a national championship. She will be counted on for her experience and goalscoring ability.

Two talented freshmen, Ashley Amo and Katie Atkins, should also see the field this year on attack. Amo, a strong finisher, led her Ridgewood High School team with 250 points, and Atkins, one of the team's best feeders, starred for Roland Park in Baltimore.

A key loss for the attack line is junior Jamie Sundheim, who suffered an ACL injury in the off-season. Sundheim had nine points last year and the game-winning goal in overtime against Dartmouth in the NCAA tournament.

Pillion will get help in the midfield primarily from sophomore Kathleen Miller, last year's Rookie of the Year. Miller finished fourth on the team last season in scoring with 32 goals and 45 points. Freshman Katie Lewis-Lamonica, a product of the Lawrenceville School, is expected to be 2005's version of Miller. Lewis-Lamonica, a two-time All-American, scored 74 goals last year and led Lawrenceville to the state title.

"[Katie] is really good at both ends and is one of our best markup defenders," Sailer said. "She's a lefty which really gives us another weapon in the attack — a good finisher and a good shooter."

Another freshman in the midfield unit, Courtney Bird, has made the most improvement of anyone on the team from the fall to the spring, according to Sailer. She is expected to bolster the midfield's depth.

Sophomore midfield Caitlin Reimers started all 20 games as a freshman last season and is a possible candidate for All-Ivy and All-American honors this year.

Reimers' classmate, Christine Dobrosky, appeared in 18 games last season, scoring 10 points in the process. Dobrosky is expected to see playing time in the midfield and on defense.

Defensively, Princeton was strong last season, allowing less than six goals per game. Junior Lauren Vance, a third-team All-American, returns to a Tiger defense that graduated an All-American and an All-Ivy player last season. Vance led the team with 29 forced turnovers in 2004 and is the Tewaaraton "Player to Watch" in 2005.

The rest of the defensive corps is rather inexperienced and will be a unit to watch as this season progresses.

"We have some question marks in terms of personnel," Sailer said. "They are working on becoming a better unit."

Freshman Allison Murray, a two-time All-American praised by Sailer for her consistency and ball control ability, will start alongside Vance on defense.

Anchoring the defense is Kolodner. With a career record of 53-5, Kolodner is a three-time All-Ivy selection and Princeton's all-time leader in goals against average. Her 5.71 goals against average last year was best in the nation.

"Losing last year has made everybody more motivated," Sailer said. "I think after you've won and won and won, maybe your expectations become that we are just going to win [the championship] because we're Princeton. It's a good reminder to [the players] that we have to work hard and be hungrier."

And hungrier they are. But not healthier. Heading into Saturday's game, only about one-third of the team is fully healthy. Biles has been sidelined recently due to a shoulder injury, Vance is out with signs of a concussion and Miller is just coming back from an injury.

If the Tigers are going to advance far into the NCAA tournament, all of the pieces must be in place. Then again, they don't take anything for granted.

"Clearly [the national championship] is our goal," Sailer said. "That's where we want to be and what we're working towards."