McGarvie leads offense

“We are the biggest graduating senior class that [head coach Chris Sailer] has ever had,” senior midfielder and tri-captain Katie Cox said. “Everyone that was recruited has stayed, and that hasn’t happened since I’ve been a freshman here, so the seniors are really committed to taking the season to the top and coming out with a national championship.”

Though the season has barely begun, the vision of an NCAA Division I Championship haunts all of the seniors, most likely because they came so close to winning it last year. An 18-11 thrashing from No. 1 Northwestern in quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, though, left Princeton’s dreams of a championship title deferred but far from forgotten.

“I would definitely be disappointed graduating without a national championship,” senior midfielder and tri-captain Holly McGarvie said. “But that’s not going to define my whole season. If we put everything out there every day, and [if] I know that my team comes off the field with no regrets, then I can walk away with that.”

While the Tigers started off hot with a 10-0 run last season, several injuries led to a stretch of frustratingly close and seemingly preventable losses.

“Last year was tough because we were doing so well, and then we had the injuries,” McGarvie said. “I hate to blame injuries because there were other factors, but that was a big factor.”

The abrupt change from a team at its peak to one struggling from game to game left players wondering what might have happened had things gone differently.

“I don’t think any of us want to look back on another season and feel that it was within our grasp,” Cox said. “Last season, at least for me, was a ‘what if’ type of season. What would have happened if that momentum would have kept going on the upswing? But it didn’t, and we are not focused on that stuff. It is a new year.”

One factor that will undoubtedly aid Princeton in its quest for a national title will be the strength and depth of its roster. The large returning senior class not only brings back loads of experience, but also features several star players.

Among the standouts is McGarvie, a first-team All-America selection last year who recently became the first Tiger to be named to the U.S. World Cup team during her collegiate career. In her three years with the Orange and Black, McGarvie has amassed 80 goals and 31 assists.

Senior defender and tri-captain Marie McKenna has been a huge contributor for the Tigers since her freshman season. Last year, McKenna anchored the defense, tallying 29 ground balls and forcing the second most turnovers on the team with 23. She earned second-team All-America honors last season and joins McGarvie on the 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List. The Tewaaraton Trophy is annually given to the top male and female varsity lacrosse player in the United States and is recognized as the sport’s pre-eminent honor.

Cox and senior attack Christine Casaceli have also been staples on Princeton’s roster since their rookie seasons. Cox, known for her speed and dynamism, has consistently proven her ability to excel on both ends of field. Last year, two weeks after earning Defensive Ivy League Player of the Week honors, Cox had back-to-back five-point performances against Temple and Brown.

Casaceli returns as the Tigers’ top offensive threat from last season, as she led the team with 38 goals and 51 points. A 2008 third-team All-America selection, Casaceli finds ways to come up big in crucial moments: Last season, she netted the game-winning goal against Virginia with less than three seconds to go to lift Princeton to a thrilling 8-7 victory.

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Senior midfielder Kristin Schwab, who has continually battled injuries through her collegiate career, is a consistent performer and is likely to be a crucial piece of the Tiger attack this season. Senior attack Anne Murray and senior defender Caity Manzo— who have played together since their days at Mt. Lebanon, a high school lacrosse powerhouse in Pittsburgh, Pa. — will also be key members of the squad.

Despite the undeniable talent of this year’s roster, the Tigers will still struggle to compensate for the loss of several graduated seniors, who provided the team with drive and natural ability.

“We just watched the highlight video from last year,” McGarvie said. “And you are always focusing on [Norris Novak ’08’s] quick feet and [Ashley Amo ’08’s] incredible eye to see any feeder and [Katie] Lewis-Lamonica ’08 on the draw control. But I think, starting a new year, you try not to think about how much you’ve lost but how much you have.”

Not only will the Tigers have to work to fill new leadership positions if it wants to earn that national championship, but the Tigers will also have to struggle through a dauntingly difficult schedule. While Princeton was ranked seventh in a preseason poll, their schedule features plenty of highly ranked teams — including No. 3 Duke, which has reached the Final Four four years in a row, and No. 4 Virginia, which enters the new season with the No. 2-ranked recruiting class in the nation. Despite the difficulty of their path leading to the NCAA title game, the seniors are more than willing to take on the challenge.

“After the Northwestern game, we came out with a kind of fire in our eye,” McKenna said. “People came out with a new focus and a new determination. As seniors, we are very aware that this is our last run, and we don’t want to fall short and end our season feeling like we didn’t get where we were capable of.”

McGarvie echoed those sentiments regarding the seniors’ final run at a national title.

“Seniors find a different role on the team,” McGarvie said. “All eyes are on you. It’s your time, it’s your team: We say something, and they follow us. Knowing that something is almost over and it’s all coming to an end definitely fires me up.”