Women's Lacrosse: Morrison’s OT goal tops Johns Hopkins

With the abundance of youth on the women’s lacrosse team, the squad has placed significant emphasis on its experienced leaders. On Saturday, they did not disappoint.

Tri-captain attacks senior Kristin Morrison and junior Lizzy Drumm combined for a total of seven goals, as No. 9 Princeton (1-0) rallied to beat Johns Hopkins (1-2) 10-9 in an overtime thriller on Saturday afternoon in Baltimore, Md.

“This is their [Morrison’s and Drumm’s] time to really step up and take over the team, especially in these early games,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “They showed in the first game that they’re ready for that responsibility.”

Drumm scored two game-tying goals at the end of the second half to send the game into the extra period, and Morrison followed that with the winning goal, her fourth of the night. She drove inside and scored unassisted to grab the victory with just more than two minutes left.

Junior goalkeeper Erin Tochihara led a stout defensive effort by the Tigers with 12 saves out of 21 shots on goal. Princeton also had advantages over Hopkins in ground balls, successful clears and total shots.

“We did a great job of forcing them out and giving our goalkeeper shots that she can handle,” Sailer said. “Toch had some big-time saves, two clears and was very consistent.”

Morrison put on a highlight-reel performance for Princeton. In addition to making four goals, she provided an assist and four draw controls on the offensive side of the field. Defensively, she caused three turnovers and picked up four ground balls to lead the team in both categories. To top off these feats, she made an impressive behind-the-back shot for her second goal, inspiring an eruption of excitement from her teammates.

Despite the stellar performance from the team’s veteran leaders, young players also had important roles. Freshman Charlotte Davis opened her Princeton career with three assists and a goal, and freshman Jaci Gassaway and sophomore Cassie Pyle each scored a goal. In total, nine underclassmen played significant minutes on both sides of the ball.

Sailer pointed to a few defensive plays that had a key influence on the outcome of the game. Down 6-8, freshman midfielder Caroline Rehfuss forced a turnover that lead to a Princeton goal. Just minutes later, with the clock winding down to four minutes, sophomore midfielder Barb Previ caused a turnover on the Blue Jays’ goalkeeper, Cosette Larash, and scooped up the ground ball, setting up the tying goal.

Saturday’s was a back-and-forth game featuring four lead changes. Princeton took an early 4-2 lead with four minutes left in the first half. Hopkins then scored two to tie the game at halftime and continued its run by scoring three more times to open the second half.

“They had quite a run of goals there,” Sailer noted. “It would have been easy for us, as a young team, to throw in the towel. But we didn’t.”

Princeton fought back to tie the game at eight late in the second half. Just 20 seconds after Drumm’s first tying goal, Hopkins scored to take back the lead. Then senior midfielder Jenna Washabaugh provided the assist to Drumm for the tying point, and the defense held on from there.

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The Tigers had an opportunity to win at the end of regulation, when Drumm took a free-position shot with 18 seconds left. Larash made a clutch save, finishing with 11 stops on 21 shots.

Sailer said there were many positives to take away from the first victory of the season. She said she was happiest with the improved quality of draw controls.

“I was really pleased with the team overall,” she explained. “We really competed well. I thought it was a great first game for us, and we have a lot we’ll have to continue working on.”

The Tigers’ home opener will be on Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m., when Rutgers comes to Princeton Stadium.