Princeton to cap off its break with rematch against bitter Virginia

The first half of the semester is winding down, but for the women's lacrosse team, the season is just getting underway.

Unlike its most recent opponent, fourth-ranked Duke (5-1), Princeton (2-1) has only played three games to date and will look to spur itself on in the next three games, all to be played in the next week. Princeton hosts Penn State (4-1) this Saturday, Loyola (1-4) next Wednesday and travels to Charlottesville to face No. 5 Virginia (6-0) next Saturday.

"We want to do well," sophomore midfielder Katie Cox said. "[The game against] Virginia is big. They just had a big victory against Maryland, who beat Duke [who beat Princeton]. Penn State and Loyola will hopefully help us prepare for Virginia. We hope to be viewed as one of the top teams in the country after this week."

The Tigers will need to step up and grind out results if they want to establish themselves as serious competitors on the national level. In its last game against Duke, Princeton made a breathtaking comeback, cutting an early 7-2 deficit to 12-11, but saw the game slip through its fingers as the Blue Devils punished the Tigers on the fast break. If Princeton expects to fare better next week, it will need to learn from its mistakes — fast.

"I just think the biggest lesson from the Duke game was [about] our transitional play," Cox said. "The little technical things we did well, but we may have been weak in transition defense."

The big showdown with Virginia next week will be something the Tigers can look forward to. Last year, thanks to an inspirational speech by head coach Chris Sailor, the Orange and Black pulled off an upset that saw No. 2 Virginia bow out to Princeton. The Cavaliers of this season, however, boast a stingy defense that has allowed only single-digit figures for their opponents in all six of their games. Their most recent matchup with previously undefeated Maryland (5-1) resulted in humiliation for the Terrapins as the Cavaliers gave them a thrashing in a 15-4 win.

"I'm sure they're pretty bitter [about last year's loss]," Cox said. "We just need to get our confidence in, and the execution. We've been playing better teams each game, and [each time] we played better than we did before. We want to keep that progression and win the narrow games."

That momentum will have to carry over into this Saturday when the Tigers play Penn State at Class of 1952 Stadium, where the Lions snatched a 14-13 overtime victory two years ago and broke Princeton's 24-game regular-season winning streak. The two teams have been paired up at least once every season since 1982. Interestingly, it was Virginia that inflicted the Nittany Lions' only loss this season, in a 13-6 win last Friday.

The encounter with unranked Loyola will be the final warmup for the rematch against Virginia. The game, played at Princeton, will be televised on ESPNU.

Senior attack Kathleen Miller, who has combined with junior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica for 23 goals this season, needs just five points to etch her name into Princeton's all-time top-10 list. She also needs four assists to move into the top five all-time at Princeton in that category.

The next three games will set the tone for the Tigers' title challenge this season. The team has matured since last season and has taken steps forward each game this season, but it will need to show its caliber in what is expected to be a challenging week.

"I hope we can attack the teams and get a good rotation of the squad," Cox said. "We have a deep and talented bench, and it is a goal for starters to score early so we can utilize the squad."

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Indeed, it will be crucial for Princeton to establish an early lead and also display the depth of its talent, especially against a watertight Virginia defense. Hopefully for Tigers' fans, the Orange and Black will come out on top — again.