Women's Lacrosse: Princeton shoots for tenth win

The opening draw of the Princeton-Harvard lacrosse double feature at Class of 1952 Stadium is at noon Saturday, and the Tigers (9-1 overall, 3-0 Ivy League) will need to focus on containing some offensive weapons of a Crimson (4-7, 1-2) team that is much better than its record indicates.

“In preparing for the game on Saturday, we want to be smart on both the attack and defensive ends,” senior midfielder and tri-captain Holly McGarvie said. “We will be patient yet dangerous on attack and strong and relentless on defense.”

The defensive effort will likely focus on shutting down attack Kaitlin Martin and midfielder Jess Halpern, who lead the Crimson with 44 and 43 points, respectively. Both are prolific goal scorers, tallying more than 30 goals each this season. Halpern is a particularly explosive player whose quickness makes her especially dangerous in one on ones. Martin works less independently and more in tandem with her teammates outside the crease, putting together long possessions and looking to take advantage of defensive errors.

The Tiger defense will also have to keep track of a few other important Cantabs. Attack Sara Flood has chipped in a team-high 11 assists and 16 goals for the Crimson. Rookie attacks Tyler Petropulos has also entered double digits in scoring. Petropulos is not just a power with the ball in her stick but also when the ball is loose, as she leads the team in ground balls, with 24, and in caused turnovers, with 13. Flood and Petropulos have also combined for 53 draw controls this season.

“We need to seal off [Halpern’s] path to goal and not get suckered into going for the check,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “With Martin and with Flood, who work the offense from behind the crease very creatively, we’ll need to be strong in our individual matchups and to anticipate their two-person plays. Fortunately for us, we have a solid core of defenders and middies who are playing really well right now.”

The equivalent power to Martin and Halpern in the Princeton offense is McGarvie, though the Tigers’ attack does not hinge on one player alone, evidenced by the seven Tigers who have scored more than 10 goals. McGarvie leads the Tigers with 32 points, coming off 19 goals and a team-high 13 assists. The senior also leads the team with 30 ground balls, 24 draw controls and 22 caused turnovers. Sophomore attack Lizzy Drumm leads the team in scoring, though, boasting 24 goals.

Rounding out the Tigers’ offense is a crowd of veterans and one freshman. Senior attack Christine Casaceli has put away three game-winners and has earned 21 points on the season. Senior midfielder Kristin Schwab and junior attack Kristin Morrison have 19 points apiece, while senior attack Sarah Steele and freshman midfielder Cassie Pyle are also in double figures in scoring.

Minding the net for the Tigers is sophomore Erin Tochihara, who has a .564 save percentage and a 7.44 goals-against average. Her skills will likely be tested by the Harvard squad, which has netted 124 goals on 300 shots for an average of 11.17 goals a game and a .413 shot percentage.

Saturday’s game is significant for the season and the program, but it also has some personal importance for the Tigers’ coach. Sailer graduated from Harvard in 1981. Her accomplishments in a Crimson uniform, which include having captained both the lacrosse team and the field hockey team, earned her that university’s top athletic honor for a woman.

“So far this season, we are two-for-two on beating our coaches’ alma maters, Penn State and JMU,” McGarvie said. “While Chris Sailer may have a history with Harvard, she wants to beat this team just as much as the next.”

Sailer wants to protect the 16-game streak over Harvard that her program has built, but she said she’s well aware that, in athletics, past performance is not always indicative of future success.

“As the saying goes, ‘You’re only as good as your next game’ ... so while the streak of wins over the last 16 years is impressive and can give us confidence, it’s what happens in this game, not the previous 16, that matters,” Sailer said. “We know Harvard is a strong opponent, much better than their record would indicate, and we anticipate a battle on Saturday.”