Overtime unkind to Tigers

Classic would be the way to describe it. Classic in every sense of the word save the outcome. The No. 13 women's lacrosse team battled No. 5 Maryland for 69 minutes Wednesday night, and both teams refused to cave. The game, which was near and dear to Princeton (9-6 overall, 5-2 Ivy League) and its search for a way into the NCAA tournament, proved to be nip and tuck all evening long. Only with four seconds remaining in the third overtime did the enduring Tigers give way, 13-12 (3OT), to the tough Terrapins (15-3).

Things were pretty slow in the early going, with both defenses playing extremely well. Maryland opened the scoring five minutes in as attack Krista Pellizzi found the net on a free-position shot for her 46th goal of the season. She'd have quite a few more before the evening was over.

Five minutes later, senior attack Ashley Amo notched her 19th goal of the season after senior attack Kathleen Miller's shot was blocked. A few seconds later, sophomore midfielder Holly McGarvie, a consistent catalyst for the Tigers, found Amo in position to score.

The Terrapins found the back of the net five minutes later, but Princeton quickly answered back as junior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica fired her 40th goal to tie the score at two.

Then Maryland scored, the Tigers answered back with two more and the Terrapins scratched back.

The game's defining characteristic was the two teams' you-punch-me-I'll-punch-you-right-back attitude. Both teams blatantly refused to back off. The net result, as befitting such a closely contested game, was a 5-5 tie at halftime, and the competitive coals were just starting to fire up.

Miller ended the scoring in the half with her second of the game and 39th of the season.

Both teams came out in the second half searching for an edge, but neither would truly find one.

Princeton proved to be the initial aggressor in the second half. Freshman goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle made a fantastic save on another Pellizzi free-position shot, leading to a quick transition goal by the red-hot Miller to put the Tigers up once again.

Half a minute later, Pellizzi won the draw — a facet of the game that the Terrapins simply dominated all night long — and found midfielder Kelly Kasper to knot things once again.

The two teams never ceased battling, but Princeton did have the largest edge of the game, of two goals, with just under 10 minutes to go in the game.

The two players leading the Tiger run were their two big guns who have come through all season long — Miller and Lewis-Lamonica.

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After an almost 10-minute drought between goals, with the score tied at nine, Lewis-Lamonica got aggressive and attacked the Maryland defense. She was rewarded for her aggression with a foul call and a free-position shot. The net result was a one-goal margin for Princeton.

Sophomore midfielder Katie Cox controlled the ensuing draw, and 30 seconds later the Tigers had a two-goal lead. McGarvie once again set up Miller, who never disappointed with her 40th of the season. The short run forced the Terrapins to call a timeout, and it seemed like the scale was beginning to tip in Princeton's favor.

But over the next eight minutes, Maryland answered with a run of its own, capped by Pellizzi's fifth of the game. It gave the Terrapins a one-goal lead with just over three minutes left in the game.

The Tigers could have melted away, but they didn't. Princeton desperately wanted the game, perhaps none more so than Miller. She scored her fifth of the game, unassisted, in the final minute to force overtime.

And then, just as quickly as it had come, the flow of goals stopped. Through three overtime periods, nine minutes in all, both teams desperately tried to put the finishing touches on what had been a titanic clash all evening long.

Princeton had the ball with 30 seconds left in the last overtime period when Miller got tangled up by the defense. Maryland raced downfield and Pellizzi, with just four seconds left in the period, scored her sixth of the game.

It was a frustrating loss for the Tigers, who have come up short a myriad of times this season. A few goals here, a bounce there and maybe a call or two and who knows what their record would be.

The past is the past, however, and the Tigers are still extremely hopeful that they can find their way into a tourney berth. To do that, they will almost certainly need to defeat No. 8 Georgetown on Sunday.

Princeton will host the Hoyas (10-6) at Class of 1952 Stadium at 1 p.m Sunday. Georgetown will enter the game licking its wounds after losing the title game of the Big East Championship to the underdog No. 7 Syracuse Orange, who were seeded second in the tourney. The match wasn't close, either, as the Orange ran over the Hoyas 12-7.

As such, Georgetown will be extra motivated to regain its composure before a likely NCAA playoff game.

The Hoyas, like Princeton, have played an extremely competitive schedule. And, not unlike the Tigers, they have failed to upend the biggest faces in the women's lacrosse field, losing to No. 3 Virginia, No. 6 Duke and Maryland.

Georgetown is at its best when it's playing its stingy defense. The Hoyas are 8-1 when they hold the opposition to under 10 goals, with the only loss coming against No. 4 North Carolina. In contrast, when they give up more than 10 goals, they are 1-5.

The player to watch will be attack Coco Stanwick. A finalist for the Tewaaraton award last season as a junior, Stanwick has amassed 60 goals so far this season. She has also proven to be an effective distributor and catalyst for Georgetown, leading the team with 23 assists.

If the Tigers are to win, then they will need to take away the Hoyas' strength, literally: the ball. If Princeton can control the ball, it will take Georgetown out if its patient game that usually results in a high number of shots on the opponent's goal. The Hoyas, consequently, are very good with draw controls and ground balls. When they turn the ball over, however, their gameplan tends to run amok.

The bottom line, however, is that Princeton needs this game. Without it, there's virtually no shot of making the playoffs. There's only one option left for the Tigers this season: win. Even a classic performance won't do it.