Fresh start for Tigers

After suffering two losses against perennial powerhouses Georgetown and Virginia, the women's lacrosse team has a chance to erase these woes and start with a clean slate. No. 6 Princeton (2-4 overall, 0-0 Ivy League) begins competition against Ivy League opponents on Wednesday when it faces Columbia (4-3, 0-2) in New York.

Over spring break, the Tigers saw a close game slip away against No. 4 Georgetown. That game came days before falling to No. 7 Virginia in a lopsided affair that saw the Orange and Black go scoreless in the second half. But they also experienced some early season fireworks that should give them confidence going into their Ivy League schedule, as well as the rest of the regular season.

One of the things that plagued the Tigers in the team's losses against Georgetown and Virginia was the fact that they fell behind early. After facing a deficit, the rest of each game was committed to playing catchup. This is certainly one of the main things Princeton would like to improve upon heading into Ivy League play.

But these problems may be solved with more experience on the field. Vance is confident that the team will be able to come together.

"After these past few losses, we've really tried to get back to the basics of working together as a team," Vance said. "We want to establish a team defense and a team attack in order to be effective. I also think we have what it takes to be a great team. We have the players, the heart and the skills. We just have to bring them all together for an entire game."

With an opportunity to start anew in its own league as well as the chance to avenge previous losses, the Tigers should come out on fire when they lock horns with the Lions on Wednesday evening.

One of the sparks for this fire may well be the production from the freshmen on the team thus far. It is safe to say that the Class of 2009 has adapted to competing at the college level with relative ease.

Freshman attack Kristin Schwab currently leads the team with 13 goals, and her fellow frosh, midfielder Katie Cox, has also put the ball in the net, with five goals and three assists on the season. In fact, the freshman class as a whole has scored a little less than half the goals for the Tigers on the season — 25 of the 57 goals, to be exact.

But the team will still rely on the leadership and production of the veteran members of the team. Junior attack Kathleen Miller leads the team in points with 17, tallying nine goals and eight assists thus far. And sophomore midfielder Katie Lewis-LaMonica, has racked up nine goals.

On defense, Princeton is led by the brilliant play of senior captain Lauren Vance. Vance has had a great deal of success over the course of her four years playing for the Orange and Black.

As a member of the 2003 team that won the national championship, she knows that on the path to glory, there can be some mistakes along the way.

"We are all disappointed in our 2-4 record right now," Vance said. "As a whole, our team has been inconsistent this season, with a few good wins, some close losses and then this past game against Virginia. But even in the losses, we have seen some great things. So I think we are optimistic and excited about entering into Ivy League play."

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The Tigers will certainly continue to look for production from their goal scorers when they make their Ivy League debut against the Lions. Unlike Princeton, Columbia has already has two Ivy League matchups under their belt so far this season, and it was on the losing side both times. The team suffered a loss to Dartmouth by a score of 14-6, and another one to Cornell, 14-3.

Despite these two losses, the Lions also have players that pose a threat in front of the net. Midfielder Kate Lombard leads the team with 16 goals and two assists on the season. Another player to watch is midfielder Katie Warner, who has 13 goals and two assists so far.

The Tigers will need to use all of their defense and every once of their firepower if they want to shut down the Lions. And after their early season struggles, the pressure is definitely on Princeton to turn its season around by starting its Ivy League schedule with a tally in the win column.