Casaceli winner downs Cavaliers

The Tigers’ biggest challenge came this past Saturday, when they hosted No. 2 Virginia. The Cavaliers (6-2) had beaten No. 4 Princeton in their last three regular-season matches and knocked Princeton out in the first round of the NCAA tournament last May with a 19-10 win. This year, the two teams battled down to the wire until a goal from junior attack Christine Casaceli with just 2.7 seconds left gave the Tigers an 8-7 victory.

“What we focused on most was believing and knowing what we could accomplish,” junior midfielder Holly McGarvie said. “Virginia is a very talented team, but so are we. Going in, we knew the game was going to be every competitive, but we focused on ourselves and believing that we could get the job done.”

Princeton came out strong, scoring three goals before Virginia could even gain possession. Once the Cavaliers got the ball in their sticks, however, they were quick to even the score, tying it at three with eight minutes, 39 seconds to play in the first half. McGarvie and freshman midfielder Lizzy Drumm added goals to give the Tigers a 5-4 edge heading into the half.

Senior attack Alison Murray extended the Tigers’ lead to two on a shot through traffic with 23:26 left to play, but Virginia tied the score at 6-6 nine minutes later. Senior attack Ashley Amo gave Princeton back the lead less than two minutes later off an assist from Murray, but Virginia would not be put down. The Cavaliers blocked Drumm’s next shot on goal to give them possession, and Virginia’s Blair Weymouth completed a hat trick to tie the score at seven with 11:03 to go.

For the remaining minutes, the teams traded turnovers, with only three shots on goal between them until the Tigers gained possession on a Virginia penalty with 10.3 seconds to go. Drumm fed Casaceli from behind the net for the winning goal.

“In the second half, we did an awesome job by making key defensive saves, and our offense was able to convert when we needed a goal,” McGarvie said. “What was most exciting was how well the team played together.”

Seven different Tigers contributed goals in the win, and five of their eight goals came off assists, showcasing Princeton’s depth.

The Tigers also demonstrated their deep bench a week earlier during their trip to Happy Valley to face No. 19 Penn State (2-3). With last year’s 8-7 upset fresh in their minds, the Tigers almost saw this year’s match against Penn State head in the same direction. The Nittany Lions went on an early run in the first half, but three unanswered Tiger scores in the second half gave Princeton a 7-6 win.

Penn State took control at the first draw and scored in the first two minutes of play. After scoring a free-position goal with 14:52 left in the first half, Penn State led the Tigers 3-0. Momentum shifted one minute later when junior defender Marie McKenna forced and recovered a turnover, and a goal from Drumm put Princeton on the board. Goals from senior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamonica, McGarvie and Drumm left the score tied at four at the end of the half.

The Tigers again could not find the back of the net early in the second half, and the Nittany Lions went up 5-4 with 21:26 left to play. McGarvie found the equalizer with 17:39 to play, and a goal from Lewis-Lamonica two minutes later gave Princeton the lead for the first time all day. Sophomore attack Kaitlin Donovan extended the offensive run to give the Tigers a 7-5 edge, and the Tigers left the field with a 7-6 win, avenging last year’s defeat and giving Princeton its ninth-straight win in Happy Valley.

“We started the game a little quiet on defense,” McGarvie said. “After the first 15 minutes, we started communicating more and making the right slides. This really helped us gain control of the game and spend more time in our offensive end.”

Freshman goalie Erin Tochihara came off the bench in the second half to help the defensive stand with three saves. The Tigers made only 35 percent of their shots, dropping their season average from 53 percent to 49 percent.

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Coming off their road win with a 4-0 record for the first time since 2004, the Tigers hosted No. 15 James Madison (4-4) in the rain Wednesday and remained undefeated with a 17-10 win.

James Madison struck first, but Casaceli scored off an assist from Drumm to tie the score with 26:54 left in the opening half, and James Madison never regained the lead. Goals from Lewis-Lamonia, Drumm and junior midfielders Katie Cox and Kristin Schwab, all of which came off assists, had the Tigers leading 5-4 with 10:17 left in the first half. Princeton quickly turned a close game into a trouncing with a five-goal run in the last 10 minutes of the half featuring Amo, Cox, Casaceli and Murray.

James Madison cut Princeton’s lead to four at 13-9 with 11:12 left to play, but that was as close as the Dukes would come. Four more goals from the Tigers clinched the decisive 17-10 win.

“We focused on faking and shooting around the goalie, and we did a nice job of putting the ball in the cage,” McGarvie said.

Princeton scored on 17 of 30 shots, had eight different goal scorers and scored 11 of its goals off assists. Amo led the offense with four goals and four assists, and her two assists in the Tigers’ win over Virginia put her assist total at 13 after just six games.

It is this depth of offensive power that has helped Princeton to its undefeated record heading into Ivy play next weekend.