Women's Lacrosse: Late flurry of scoring seals win

But tied at nine, No. 8 Princeton (1-0 overall) responded with a vigorous intensity, tallying four straight unanswered goals in the last 11 minutes to secure a 13-9 victory in its season-opener against No. 13 Johns Hopkins (1-2) on Saturday afternoon at Class of 1952 Stadium.

“We kicked it up a notch,” senior midfielder and tri-captain Holly McGarvie said. “Throughout the week we had been preparing for those situations a lot.”

After taking a 7-4 lead by halftime, the Tigers faced a reinvigorated Hopkins team that came out firing on all cylinders. Midfielder Brianna Cronin got things started for the Blue Jays: Though McGarvie secured possession for Princeton initially, a series of back-and-forth turnovers gave Cronin possession of the ball. Cronin took advantage of a free-position shot to net the first goal of the half. Just 48 seconds later, after the Blue Jays won control of the ensuing draw, Cronin was at it again, firing her next shot past junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Perrelle.

Just like that, the lead had been trimmed to one, and the Tigers were forced to take a timeout.

The Tigers came out of the timeout ready to respond, and respond they did. Senior defender and tri-captain Marie McKenna won control of the draw and earned a free-position shot, but goalkeeper Lizzie O’Ferrall saved freshman midfielder Cassie Pyle’s shot.

On the other end, Perrelle stonewalled a two-point attempt. The Tigers cleared the ball and set up in their attacking half. After patiently probing the Hopkins defense, sophomore midfielder Lizzy Drumm’s bounce shot made it past O’Ferrall to give Princeton a little more breathing room.

Senior midfielder and tri-captain Katie Cox won possession of the draw on the next play, and senior midfielder Kristin Schwab took full advantage, burying a high shot in the back of the net to push the lead back to three with 23:49 remaining in the game.

Over the next 10 minutes, however, the Blue Jays methodically worked their way back into the game behind a scrappy defense and a relentless offense. Princeton only took one shot on goal in that period, and O’Ferrall gobbled up the lone attempt.

Hopkins defender Alyssa Kildare scored off a free-position shot a few minutes after Schwab’s goal. The teams exchanged possession a few times before Cronin scored following a successful clear attempt. Attack Brooke Foussadier capped off the rally with a goal directly following a Tiger turnover.

“I think at that point, that’s where it showed it was our first game in the season and their third,” McGarvie said. “We let them stay in the game a little too long.”

Things weren’t looking good for Princeton, as Hopkins won the following draw and had a chance to take the lead for the first time since it led 2-1 in the sixth minute of the first half.

Then the Tigers clamped down and asserted themselves.

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“I think in the game, we knew we were a better team than Hopkins, and at that point we were just ready to take over the game,” McGarvie said.

Junior attack Kristin Morrison assisted senior attack Christine Casaceli on the score that would put Princeton back up for good. Morrison was on the receiving end of an assist a few minutes later, as Drumm found her for another goal to make it 11-9 with 8:01 to go.

Senior attack Anne Murray sealed the game at 2:22 when she scored, unassisted, her second goal of the match. Schwab added one more off of a free-position shot to close out the scoring.

“We were able to put away two and then three and then four goals, and it really sealed for the deal for us,” McGarvie said.

Perhaps the most impressive score of the day, however, came shortly before halftime. Johns Hopkins had sliced its 5-3 deficit in half before Murray scored in transition with 1:51 to play.

Drumm and Morrison led Princeton with four points each, while McGarvie had three. Cronin led Hopkins with four points. Tochihara finished with six saves, while Perrelle had two.

For the Tigers, it was a crucial home victory on a schedule that features a challenging series of road games.

“We know we can stand up to that pressure and come away with a win, even if we are up against a team that we just can’t get rid of,” McGarvie said. “It will definitely help with our confidence.”

The Tigers will only have a few days to relish their good start, as Princeton will head to New Brunswick, N.J., to take on Rutgers on Wednesday. But the Tigers can travel there feeling good about their first performance.

“It definitely sets the tone,” McGarvie said. “Now, going into Rutgers and Duke, we have a win under our belts.”