Tigers edge Hoyas in women's lax

In her final regular season game, senior attack Kathleen Miller soared — literally — as she leapt into the air to pull down a gorgeous pass from friend and teammate senior midfielder Alex Gangler. Once she had the ball, the rest was easy. She simply whipped it into the corner for what would prove to be the game-winning goal for No. 11 Princeton, which defeated No. 8 Georgetown 12-11 Sunday afternoon at Class of 1952 Stadium.

"I was just so excited to see that ball," Miller said. "Alex is one of my great friends, and she and I had been talking about a Gangler-Miller or Miller-Gangler play during the game, since we're both from the Baltimore area."

Gangler-Miller was the play of the game, but there were a number of fantastic plays by several Tigers that put Princeton over the top.

"I realize I need to be an impact player, a goal-getter. I can't just set up my teammates all the time," Miller said. "But I'm only scoring because my teammates are making great passes, clearing out for me."

Head coach Chris Sailer echoed her comments, but she also commended her star player now ranked No. 4 in Princeton history for points scored, for her increased level of play.

"I think Miller has made a big difference. She's really stepped up." Sailer said. "I think everybody has started to elevate their game more."

Freshman goalie Kaitlyn Perrelle made a number of clutch saves down the stretch to prevent Georgetown from tying the game. Gangler had a second assist and a goal of her own. Senior attack Ashely Amo put one on the board too, while sophomore midfielder Kristin Schwab nailed both of her free position shots.

Princeton was in the driver's seat for most of the game, with Schwab scoring the first goal of the game and Gangler following suit to give the Tigers a two-goal lead.

The Hoyas rallied several times, led by attack Coco Stanwick, who scored three goals. All in all, however, the Princeton "D" kept her in check, as she only converted three attempts out of eight chances.

Georgetown cut the lead to one at 4-3 with roughly 18 minutes 30 seconds left in the first half, and that was when it seemed the Tigers would simply cruise for the rest of the game. After Miller missed a shot, Princeton set the offense back up. Gangler and Amo hooked up, leading to Amo's score of the game to push the margin back to two.

Then the Tigers' big guns got it going.

Sophomore midfielder Holly McGarvie, who affected the offense mostly through her playmaking and distributing abilities, found a cutting Miller for another score.

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Princeton managed to clear after a fantastic save by Perrelle on a Georgetown free-position shot, which led to Miller setting up junior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica for a score, giving the Tigers a comfortable 7-3 lead.

It may have been too comfortable. The Hoyas went on to score four straight early in the second half and took a one-goal lead.

The crowd was stunned.

Much of the difficulty lay in Georgetown's ability to dominate the draw controls. After scoring goals, the Hoyas regained control of the ball by dominating the draws 18-6. Princeton managed to hold its own by winning the ground balls 15-11 in addition to undercutting Georgetown by four in the turnover category.

With their postseason hopes on the brink, the Tigers went back to their bread and butter — or, in other words, Lewis-Lamonica.

She scored two consecutive goals to put Princeton back on top, a lead that the Tigers would never relinquish. She got things started by faking out her defender and cutting through the heart of the Hoya defense, firing a sharp bounce shot off the turf.

Georgetown had a chance to come back after earning a free-position shot, but Perrelle made another fantastic save to keep Princeton neck-and-neck. Her efforts didn't go to waste, as Lewis-Lamonica scored yet again to regain the lead for the Tigers.

Stanwick would go on to tie it with another timely goal, but Princeton stayed aggressive, attacking the Georgetown defense relentlessly. That aggressiveness earned Schwab another free-position shot, which she converted yet again.

"That was so huge," Sailer said of her team's counterpunch. "They scored four in a row to take the lead, and that really could have taken the wind out of our sails, but we were able to come back with two goals of our own and take the lead back."

Then the Gangler-Miller aerial show gave Princeton the two-goal lead with less than a minute to go.

Perhaps the most unheralded moments, however, were the next 30 seconds, as the Tigers played amazing defense against the Hoyas, preventing them from clearing the ball quickly. There were some tense moments after Georgetown scored on an inbounds pass, but Lewis-Lamonica played excellent defense after the Hoyas won control of the draw, forcing a turnover.

McGarvie ran out the final seven seconds on the clock.

Whether Princeton will make the tournament remains to be seen, but it's indisputable that its chances are infinitely better after winning Sunday afternoon.

It was an emotional win, to be sure — especially for the seniors.

"You get out there, and you don't know if this will be your last warm-up, your last game," Miller said.

With any luck, Miller's Sunday performance will ensure that it wasn't.

"I really hope that we make [the NCAA Tournament] just so we can keep on going because I think we're just starting to see what's possible for us," Sailer said. "We just want to see how far it's possible for us to go, but it's in the committee's hands now."