Women's Lacrosse: 10-goal run fuels win over Bulldogs

Princeton spread its goals between six players, including freshman attacker Sam Ellis, who pulled off a hat trick in the span of nine minutes during the second half. Senior attacker Kristin Morrison contributed not only two goals but also two assists, while sophomore midfielder Cassie Pyle and freshman midfielder Jenna Davis contributed two goals apiece.

Junior goalie Erin Tochihara only allowed two goals in all 60 minutes in the net. She also made five saves and had five ground balls. Princeton had 20 shots on goal, compared to Yale’s seven.

“Our assistant coach, Michele DeJuliis, was most proud of how the attack kept shooting this weekend,” Tochihara said. “We took a lot of shots in the beginning of the game. The attack never gave up and never gave in.”

The Bulldogs were the first to strike, with midfielder Kaitlyn Flatley scoring with 20 minutes, 46 seconds remaining to put Yale on the board. But Princeton responded less than two minutes later, when Davis scored on an assist from junior attacker Lizzy Drumm. Yale countered again with another Flatley goal at 17:10.

That would be the last time Yale scored, though. Morrison’s two consecutive goals — one at 12:15 and the other at 12:30 — put the Tigers ahead for good just before halftime.

“Having the attack have the ball most of the game put pressure on Yale’s defense,” Tochihara said, noting how the strong offense gave the Tigers defense more breathing room. Princeton doubled the Bulldogs in ground balls, 26 to 13, and also bested them in draws, 8 to 7.

The second half would be the Tigers’ preying ground, as they held Yale scoreless while tallying eight goals. Yale held the Tigers for nearly 10 minutes before Pyle’s first goal came at 20:41. Davis would push Princeton further ahead with a goal at 14:36 before Pyle’s second goal only 15 seconds later. Both were on assists from Morrison.

Ellis would build on the Tigers’ margin with her first of three goals at 9:32. Assisted by Pyle, sophomore midfielder Allison Behringer would contribute another goal two minutes later before Ellis’s second goal at 6:03. Junior midfielder Maisie Devine scored at 3:35, and a third Ellis goal with only 25 seconds remaining effectively ended the game.

“We put together an entire 60 minutes of play on Saturday,” Tochihara said. “We really came together and were successful on the offensive and defensive games.”

It was a much-needed win for the Tigers, who will face No. 2 Maryland this Wednesday at home. Despite its intimidating ranking, Maryland lost to No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday, marking its first regular-season loss in more than two years and putting a chink in the Terrapin armor that Princeton will look to take advantage of this week.

“Everyone’s excited after the home win on Saturday,” Tochihara said. “We’re hoping to carry this momentum. Maryland’s going to be tough. We want to follow up good with good and play like we did against Yale. We keep improving every day, and we want to give Maryland a good game.”