Women's Lacrosse: Team drops Johns Hopkins in season-opening thriller

The game started with momentum on Princeton’s side. After winning the first draw of the game, the Orange and Black struck six minutes in with a shot by junior attacker Barb Previ. Four minutes later, junior midfielder Cassie Pyle took her defender one-on-one from the top, down the left side and to the cage to put the Tigers ahead 2-0. Princeton’s attackers put high pressure on the Blue Jays’ goalie when she was trying to clear, and the Tiger midfield continued to ride their opponents hard in the transition, forcing several turnovers.

Hopkins then scored the next four goals unanswered. A free-position shot and a one-on-one attack from the goal line tied the game 2-2. Hopkins took its first lead at 11 minutes, 26 seconds when the Blue Jays passed over the top of a Princeton double team to an open attacker in the middle.

The Tigers continued to pressure the Blue Jays in transition and on defense but struggled to find the back of the net. They regained momentum after calling a timeout, running a beautiful full-field transition that ended with a goal by sophomore midfielder Charlotte Davis. With only five seconds remaining on the clock, Hopkins was awarded a free-position and scored, ending the half up 5-3.

Not allowing the goal to get them down, the Tigers came out very strong in the second half with five unanswered goals. Hopkins goalie Cosette Larash was very far off her line in the second minute of the half, and Previ fed sophomore attacker Jaci Gassaway, who scored on the empty net from far out. Pyle scored her second goal of the game off of a free-position less than three minutes later and Davis soon added her second, giving the Tigers a 6-5 lead.

For the next 12 minutes, neither team scored a goal. Finally, after several nicely-connected passes, sophomore midfielder Caroline Rehfuss fed to sophomore attacker Sam Ellis, who finished over the goalie’s shoulder. Previ struck again, beating her defender from the top, shooting the ball to the high corner of the net and putting the Tigers ahead by three goals with less than nine minutes to go.

But the Blue Jays rallied, scoring three goals in two minutes to tie the game 8-8. The Tiger defense recovered and prevented any further scoring, enabling Gassaway to score the game-winning goal off of an assist by Davis with three and a half minutes to go.

The Blue Jays got a shot off with a minute left on the clock, but Princeton’s senior goalie Erin Tochihara stopped it for her 12th and final save.

“We had a good ride, which gave Hopkins trouble in their transition game,” head coach Chris Sailer said. “We held up to their great attackers and did a good job controlling the flow of the game.” She also noted that her team was successful in its offensive transition against the aggressive Blue Jay offense.

“The whole team was very proud of the effort,” junior defender and tri-captain Cathy Bachur said. “Everyone made a difference out there and we played with intensity throughout the entire game. It was such a great way to come out and open the season with a win.”

Hopkins played aggressively, collecting six yellow cards during the game, while Princeton did not receive one yellow card penalty. Sailer said she was proud that, despite being bumped around, her team held its cool and did not attempt to retaliate. “It really showed the maturity of our players,” she said.

Although they have only played the first game of the season, the Tigers are already playing with a lot of chemistry out on the field. “We’ve been working really hard all year and it’s nice to finally play against other teams and feel things start to click on the field,” Bachur said. “The energy is great and we are really playing together as a unified team.”

The team expressed its optimism about the season and looks forward to the two games this week. The Tigers will visit Rutgers on Wednesday night before traveling down to Duke for a Saturday afternoon game.