Columbia no contest for Tigers

It would be an understatement to say that last night was a good one for the women's lacrosse team. No. 8 Princeton (3-4 overall, 1-0 Ivy League) had a lot to prove heading into yesterday's game against Columbia (4-4, 0-3), and the Tigers passed the test with flying colors.

Princeton snapped its two-game losing streak in convincing fashion, beating the Lions by a score of 16-7. Head coach Chris Sailer enjoyed the 250th win of her coaching career. On top of that, the Tigers established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Ivy League.

The victory, which marked the ninth time Princeton has beaten Columbia since the teams began competing against each other, was certainly a confidence booster for the Orange and Black. Junior attack Kathleen Miller and freshman midfielder Holly McGarvie both scored four times apiece. Miller increased her team-leading total to 13 goals on the season. McGarvie, who now has seven goals on the season, emphasized how important the win was for the Tigers.

"Last night was a big turning point in our season," McGarvie said. "The loss against Virginia was tough, and we needed to reestablish ourselves in the Ivy League. The win last night sent a message to the rest of the conference. It was very important that our team came together and played to our potential."

Miller also believes that the team set out to prove something last night.

"This game was huge," Miller said. "Columbia has stepped it up this year and was a good team to open Ivies with. We've had a tough run so far, and I think this game was integral in our team's gelling as a unit."

The game started off with evenly matched play from both sides. With the game knotted at two early in the first half, Miller began to break things open by scoring two goals in the span of seven minutes to give Princeton a 4-2 lead. On her first goal of the game, Miller received a brilliant pass from sophomore attack Katie Atkins and sent a bullet past Columbia goalkeeper Marcela Calidonio for the score. Her second goal was unassisted.

The Lions responded with a goal of their own two minutes later when attack Holly Glynn sent the ball flying past junior goalkeeper Colleen O'Boyle. The Tigers, however, would not let up on offense, getting goals from junior midfielder Christine Dobrosky and freshman attack Christine Casaceli to make the score 6-3. At the end of the half, the score was 8-4 in favor of Princeton, thanks to goals from Miller and McGarvie.

Along with scoring twice as many goals as the Lions in the first half, the Tigers also outshot them 19-5. And they did not stop there. The team was on fire when it came out of the locker room for the second half of play. Miller and McGarvie continued their scoring fest by adding a goal apiece within the first five minutes of the half. McGarvie was also credited with the assist on Miller's goal. Then, sophomore midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica added two unassisted goals of her own to put Princeton ahead, 12-4. She also had two assists in the matchup.

Columbia interrupted the Tiger scoring festivities with a goal from midfielder Catherine Lee. But this was only a brief pause in the Princeton domination, as the Tigers then added four more goals. Freshman defender Marie McKenna, netting the first goal of her college career, added a goal with under ten minutes left to give her team its biggest lead of the game, 16-5. The Lions, trying to pull off an unlikely comeback, scored two goals in the final minutes of the game. But it was too little too late, and Princeton emerged victorious in its first Ivy League battle.

Reflecting on the much-needed victory, McGarvie noticed some improvements in this game.

"Our offense worked into a settled attack, and we were able to create a great scoring dynamic where every player was involved," McGarvie said.

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Miller also emphasized that the team could be on its way to better days.

"Last night's play demonstrated a very nice progression towards the sort of team game we have been striving for," Miller said. "We're not totally there yet, but we are definitely on our way."