No. 4 Tigers crush Penn to move to 4-0 in Ivy League

Five proved to be a lucky number for the women's lacrosse team on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Senior attack Lindsey Biles scored five goals. Five different players scored in the game. The defense held No. 16 Penn to five goals, and most importantly, the team earned its fifth straight win in a dominating manner, 12-5.

With the win, the No. 4 Tigers (9-2 overall, 4-0 Ivy League) remained unbeaten in league play and extended their Ivy winning streak to 15 games dating back to 2003.

Princeton continued its terrific defense in league play this season, limiting the Quakers (6-5, 3-2) to just three shots in the first half and 16 overall. The Tigers also forced 17 turnovers in the game as a result of solid transition defense. In four Ivy League wins over Columbia, Cornell, Yale and now Penn, Princeton has allowed just 22 combined goals and held these opponents to eight goals or fewer per game.

"[The defense] has been playing a lot more as a team," Biles said.

One of the goals that squeaked by the defense came just a minute and half into Wednesday night's contest as the Quakers took an early 1-0 lead. Another minute and a half later, however, Princeton, led by Biles, began a stretch in which the team would score nine unanswered goals and seal the victory. Biles scored two of the team's first three goals in that stretch and gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead after 10 minutes of play.

For the next 10 minutes, both defenses dominated as neither team could find the back of the net. Freshman attack Katie Lewis-Lamonica broke the scoring drought at the five minute, 14 second mark of the half giving Princeton a three-goal lead. Senior midfielder Elizabeth Pillion added another goal 20 seconds later, and Biles dumped her third goal of the half into the back of the net on a one-on-one move with 11 seconds left in the first half. The Tigers led 6-1 at the half.

The second half featured more of the same offensive firepower from Princeton as the team scored three more goals in the first eight minutes of the second half to extend the lead to 9-1. Senior attack Leigh Slonaker scored on a free position shot, Pillion scored unassisted 23 seconds later and Biles capped the stretch with a free-position goal.

Penn would not go quietly, however, as Katie Spofford and Emily Cochran scored goals one minute apart to cut the deficit to 9-3. Halfway through the second half, Rachel Manson and Spofford scored again to trim the lead to four goals, 9-5. But Princeton responded on the strength of an Ingrid Goldberg goal with 12 minutes left to stop the Penn run. The Quakers would not score again.

"We finally got a flow going [offensively]," Biles said. "We were able to work all parts of our offense effectively."

Despite its offensive firepower, Biles realizes that the team has room for improvement.

"We still need to work on the basics," she said, "and control the amount of turnovers we have. We are winning a lot more of the groundball battles. [On a positive note], we have been a lot more focused, as a whole, both at the start of games and in practice."

Lewis-Lemonica had a hat trick in the game and became the fifth player on the squad to score 10 goals on the season. Pillion added two goals, and Goldberg chipped in two assists. Both assists came on goals by Biles, who became the fourth player in Princeton history to score 150 career goals. Princeton fired 23 shots in the game. Draw controls and groundballs were almost exactly even — Princeton got the better of Penn in groundballs, 16-15, and the Quakers topped the Tigers in draw controls, 10-9.

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

Cochran and Spoffard led Penn in scoring with two goals apiece. Chrissy Muller had two assists on the night, both coming in the second half of play.

Sailer once again played both senior goaltender Sarah Kolodner and sophomore goalie Colleen O'Boyle. Kolodner, who had five saves, played the entire first half, and O'Boyle started the second and made two saves in relief work. Kolodner reentered the game at the 14:57 mark of the second half after Penn had scored its third straight goal of the half.