Dominant attack sweeps Knights aside

The Tigers (2-0) attacked from start to finish, and their offensive onslaught on the Scarlet Knights (0-4) resulted in Princeton’s second win of the season, 16-8. Princeton entered the match with the confidence of its 19-10 demolition of Rutgers last year, including four goals by then-junior attack Katie Lewis-Lamonica in a span of one minute, 58 seconds.

The Tigers hit the field with a vengeance, scoring eight goals to the Scarlet Knights’ two and holding a 20-6 edge in shots during the first period alone. Dominating possession thanks to an edge in team speed, Princeton started the first half with a goal by junior attack Christine Casaceli and kept the back of the cage hot after that. By the end of the period the Tigers held a commanding 8-2 lead, including three goals in a five-minute span.

“Against Hopkins the ball was on our defense end the whole time,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “So it was really key for us to get going with our offense and get the ball in the back of the net.”

The most outstanding goal of the period occurred with less than a minute left on the clock. Princeton’s offense had possession in front of the Rutgers goal, playing a passing game and seemingly waiting out the end of the period. As the clock ticked down, junior midfielder Kristin Schwab made a shot from the side, scoring the last point of the half with just one second left.

Confident in the Tigers’ stability on the scoreboard, Sailer switched out several of her starting veterans during the second half to give some of her prized rookies more playing time.

“We wanted to give our younger kids some game experience,” Sailer said. “We are going to need to use these kids as we progress in the season, and a couple of them came through to score goals for us.”

Down 13-5 in the middle of the second half, Rutgers finally fought back. Needing to score and score quickly, the Scarlet Knights capitalized on the Tigers’ offensive drought to step up their pressure and eat away at Princeton’s eight-point lead.

Capitalizing on the Tigers’ rookie-filled field, the Scarlet Knights scored three unanswered goals in less than six-and-a-half minutes. Rutgers’ resurgence was enough to convince Sailer that the newbies had played long enough.

“Then Rutgers started to score some goals,” Sailer said. “And we decided we needed to clamp down and get this game under control.”

Princeton quickly cut off any momentum or confidence Rutgers was building, scoring its own hat trick of unanswered goals to end the match.

Though the Tigers undoubtedly proved their status as a powerhouse team, there are improvements to be made if they want to take down some of their bigger rivals.

“We had some defensive lapses, there were times when we were just ball watching and we weren’t picking up cutters,” Sailer said. “And clearly we have to stay on our toes the whole time. We don’t want to have a letdown against any team, but I was glad we were able to regain control of the game.”

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If Princeton lets some of the more experienced teams such as Duke — the team’s opponent this weekend — break through its defense in the same sort of letdown that occurred in the second half last night, it could cost the Tigers more than a few points.

With its impressive speed and ball-handling skills, however, in addition to a roster filled with last year’s starters, Princeton could be looking at yet another record-breaking season.

“We are confident in our play,” Sailer said. “We step on the field prepared to do anything we can do to win a game. That’s our mentality every game.”