Princeton crushes Crimson

Now that senior attack Lindsey Biles is done writing her senior thesis, she can move on to her next project — rewriting the women's lacrosse team's record book. Biles recorded a career-high nine points on six goals and three assists in Saturday's 21-12 thumping of Harvard at Class of 1952 Stadium. In the No. 4 Tigers' sixth straight win, Biles moved into fourth place on Princeton's all-time points list with 200 points.

In a game that proved to be the highest-scoring game in Class of 1952 Stadium history, 10 Tiger players found the net. Biles led all scorers in the first half with five goals as Princeton (10-2 overall, 5-0 Ivy League) led the Crimson (2-9, 0-3) 12-2 at the half. Biles then added to her point total in the second stanza, recording a goal and two assists. The Tigers' 21 goals are the most since 2002, when the team scored 25 times against Le Moyne in an NCAA tournament game.

Most impressively, 12 of Princeton's 21 goals came off assists. The Tigers had eight assists in the first half as the team scored eight times in the final 14 minutes of the half to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore attack Mary Minshall started the late first half run with her goal assisted by senior attack Ingrid Goldberg at the 14 minute, eight second mark. Biles then followed with two consecutive goals, and Goldberg added a third in that two-minute stretch. Freshman attack Ashley Amo assisted on two of those three goals. Amo scored one of her two goals in the game with 32 seconds left in the half to cap the run.

Despite this streak, Harvard did not quietly submit to Princeton's dominance in the second half of play. The Crimson scored three goals in the first four minutes of the half and four more consecutive goals midway through the half, cutting its opponent's lead to 15-10. The Tigers, though, were able to respond quickly. Freshman attack Katie Lewis-Lemonica scored two goals, and Biles added her sixth of the game and 40th of the season with just over 12 minutes left to extend Princeton's lead to eight goals, 18-10.

Lewis-Lemonica finished with a hat trick, and four other Princeton players — Amo, Minshall, Goldberg and sophomore midfielder Kathleen Miller — added two goals apiece. Senior midfielder Elizabeth Pillion, senior attack Leigh Slonaker, freshman midfielder Courtney Bird and sophomore midfielder Christine Dobrosky each tallied a goal as well.

Every active Tiger saw the field on Saturday, including sophomore backup goaltender Colleen O'Boyle, who played nine minutes in the second half and recorded one save, and third-string freshman goaltender Meg Murray, who played the final 11 minutes of the game. Starting senior goaltender Sarah Kolodner played just over 39 minutes and ended with two saves.

Harvard's scoring leaders, Liz Gamble and Caroline Simmons, scored three goals each for the Crimson. Gamble also added two assists on a day in which Harvard could only muster six first-half shots and 18 in the game. The loss marked the 13th consecutive year that Harvard has lost to Princeton. The Crimson represent only the second team on the Tigers' schedule to have a losing record at the time of the game.

Princeton also demonstrated more hustle and resolve than the team has in previous games. The Tigers won 22 of the 34 draw controls in the game, came out on top in the groundball battle, 25-22, and committed seven fewer turnovers than did Harvard.

Princeton extended its Ivy League winning streak to 16 games and hopes to make it 17 next weekend when the team travels to Dartmouth to face the only other team undefeated in Ivy League play. The Big Green (11-0, 5-0) beat Penn this weekend, 10-8, and will face Harvard on Wednesday.

In the Dartmouth game, Biles has an opportunity to climb in the record books. She needs just two goals to move into third place, past former teammate Theresa Sherry '04, in all-time goals scored. As of late, Biles has been on a goalscoring tear, scoring 11 times in the team's last two games and 17 times in the past four games.

Biles' impressive performance comes on the heels of the announcement last Friday that both she and teammate Pillion are among the 18 nominees for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's best player. Five finalists will be chosen on May 5, after the regular season has ended, and the award will be presented on June 2 at the University Club in Washington, D.C.