Women's Lacrosse: Tough year ends for young squad

This season snapped a 12-year streak of NCAA tournament appearances, but the Tigers did manage to make the inaugural Ivy League tournament. Princeton clinched the playoff berth with a win against then-No. 7 Dartmouth, rallying from a 7-3 deficit to take the game with a goal by freshman midfielder Caroline Rehfuss in the last second of overtime.

The Tigers fell 13-9 to top-seeded Penn, which was ranked No. 5 at the time, in the tournament semifinal on April 30, but the heroic goal that earned Princeton its playoff spot signals a bright future for the young team.

Princeton will lose only four seniors to graduation this year, but attacker and tri-captain Kristin Morrison — second on the team in goals scored this year — and defender and tri-captain Sarah Vance will both certainly be missed.

The women kicked off the season in unpredictable fashion when the Tigers nabbed a 10-9 win in overtime in the season opener at Johns Hopkins. The contest showed how important a role Morrison would play in this season, as she notched four goals and an assist to lead Princeton on attack. She also led the team in caused turnovers and draw controls.

In the home opener, though, the Orange and Black did not fare so well. Rutgers upset Princeton in a nail-biting 12-11 game for its third victory in the history of the series, in the first of a number of ill-fated home games. The contest also marked the first time the Tigers played at Princeton Stadium, which replaced Class of 1952 Stadium as Princeton’s home turf this season.

The Tigers wasted no time before taking on national powerhouse programs, as they faced historically strong Duke and Virginia — both ranked No. 6 at the time of the games — in the first six matchups of the year. After the season’s harrowingly close first two games, Princeton had trouble keeping up with Duke and dropped a one-sided 13-6 decision to the Blue Devils. Though Princeton’s defensive unit was effective, the ball remained in the defensive end for most of the game, and a series of failed transitions to the attack spelled defeat.

The Tigers were able to tip the scales drastically in the other direction in the first Ivy League contest of the year when they dropped Brown 16-6 on a day in which heavy rain and fierce wind ravaged the Providence, R.I., field. The following Wednesday, Princeton traded intense playing conditions for intensity of competition, facing then-undefeated James Madison. The Tigers played a fantastic first half and were up 6-4 going into the locker room, but the Dukes were able to pull even with Princeton, making the score 11-11 at the end of regular time.

James Madison scored first in overtime, but Princeton forced a turnover and junior attacker and tri-captain Lizzy Drumm was able to get the goal with just 5 seconds remaining to earn a second overtime. Two minutes later, in a sudden-death overtime period, the Dukes scored to take the game 13-12 and maintain their unblemished record.

Princeton’s second Virginia opponent of the week, the University of Virginia Cavaliers, was not quite so forgiving, as a 14-7 loss recalled the uneven Duke game.

After maintaining an undefeated position in the Ivy League against Columbia with an easy 15-5 victory, Princeton notched Sailer’s 300th win in style at No. 9 Georgetown. The Tigers defeated their first ranked opponent of the season, and it took all of four overtime periods to finish a 15-14 battle.

Drumm set the example for attack by scoring five goals, and the attack unit looked cohesive and put-together. Though the Hoyas outshot Princeton, 10 more fouls on Georgetown’s side kept the Washington team mired in the defensive end.

The Tigers began their Ivy League schedule in earnest with an upset loss to Cornell — its first since 1988. Princeton didn’t lose for want of energy, but rather because the team had trouble translating work to success. Next up was Yale, a team the Tigers dominated 11-2.

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In its last non-conference game of the season, Princeton fell to No. 3 Maryland, a powerful program boasting fierce athleticism. The 13-6 defeat indicated that the Tigers were now mature enough to hold their own against one of the top teams in the nation even without leading scorer Drumm, who injured her leg in the first half.

After losses to Harvard and Penn, Princeton finished off its regular season strong, with an 11-10 overtime win against Ancient Eight foe Dartmouth, the game which secured a playoff berth for the Tigers.

Next year, Princeton will look to capitalize on the growth and skills acquired in the 2010 season as Sailer enters her 25th year at the program’s helm.