Early scoring secures rout of Rutgers

The helpless victim of a midweek massacre, Rutgers (3-1) never knew what hit it. The Scarlet Knights gave up six goals to the No. 9 women's lacrosse team (2-0 overall) in a three-minute stretch, effectively handing over the match.

The onslaught commenced three minutes into the game Wednesday evening on the Rutgers Turf Field, as senior attack Kathleen Miller opened up the scoring. Seconds later, junior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica unleashed a blizzard of goals, ramming in four in just under two minutes. The wizard's fine solo efforts were capped by a contribution from sophomore midfielder Katie Cox, making the score 6-0 before the dazed and battered Scarlet Knights finally managed to get themselves on the board.

It was simply a matter of class, as the Orange and Black glided across the field like gazelles while its scarlet counterparts struggled in vain to defend the net. By halftime the Tigers were up 11-2, and a dark night had fallen on Rutgers.

"We were hungry, and we just attacked and attacked," Miller said. "The first five minutes was telling [of the entire game]. After that I was thinking 'Oh God, this is going to be a fun one.' "

Having snatched a dramatic victory against Johns Hopkins last weekend, the morale in the Princeton camp was undoubtedly sky-high. But Miller revealed there were other reasons behind the unforgiving demolition that took place Wednesday.

"We had a good run against Hopkins, sure," Miller said. "And we don't want to get too excited and underestimate [an opponent], but everyone was fired up. We wanted to settle who owned Jersey. Rutgers is a very strong and athletic team, but we were thinking 'We're going to dominate. Jersey is ours.' "

Head coach Chris Sailer made sure of that by warning the Tigers not to slip in the second half.

"She told us that was an awesome first half, and that we did exactly what we wanted right off the bat," Miller said. "But she also said 'This game isn't won. You need to go back out there the same way and keep the same exact momentum. The game can easily switch hands.' "

That point was clearly understood by the Tigers, as they kept their cool walking back onto the field for the second half.

"We realized at halftime that if Rutgers came out hard and got a couple quick goals, that might be enough to let them back into the game," Lewis-Lamonica said. "We knew we had to keep focused and keep playing well."

Indeed, though the Scarlet Knights managed to salvage a little more in the second half, they never found their way back in, as the game drew to a close at 19-10. The Tigers outstripped the Knights in every fashion, leading in shots (30-22), ground balls (13-9), draw controls (17-14) and saves (7-3). Lewis-Lamonica and Miller spearheaded the campaign, tallying six and five goals, respectively.

"I don't think anyone had that attitude of 'Oh, it's a walk in the park,' " Miller said. "We were thinking 'There is no way we're going to let them sneak back in.'"

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The Tigers have little time to revel and bask in their local throne, however, as they turn their eyes to the south to take on current No. 4 Duke (4-1) this Sunday. The Tigers are undaunted by their opponent's ranking and are confident they can prolong their winning streak at the expense of the Blue Devils.

"Like every year, it's going to be a battle," Miller said. "The Hopkins game gave us the confidence, then we had good practices and destroyed Rutgers. So we showed people what we can do. You have to worry about your opponent to a certain extent, but you really have to concentrate on yourself. There's no reason we can't do it. It's definitely going to be a fun game."

That much should be true, as both teams attack with vicious firepower. Despite narrowly losing to No. 3 Maryland (3-0) in their most recent game, the Blue Devils have averaged an impressive tally of more than 15 goals per game.

In their matchup against William & Mary (1-2), four Blue Devils recorded hat tricks against the Tribe en route to a 15-3 win. Though the Tigers will be playing in Durham, tipping off at 1 p.m. Sunday, their recent success gives them confidence regardless of the venue.

"From the consistent starter to the [player on the] bench, we've got that confidence that, no matter who we're playing, it's our field," Miller said.

It goes without saying, that the inform Tigers are capable of giving the Blue Devils one hell of a time. And the Tigers will certainly fire on all cylinders to ensure that Duke goes back down in the rankings where it belongs.