Women's Lacrosse: Princeton aims for 3rd straight victory

The No. 11 Tigers (5-3 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) are fresh off a 15-10 victory against Cornell (3-6, 1-3) in Ithaca last Saturday. Freshman midfielder Sarah Lloyd led the team with four goals and one assist and sophomore midfielder Charlotte Davis contributed two goals and two assists. Though the Big Red outshot Princeton 29-21, senior goalie Erin Tochihara made 10 saves to solidify the win.

Following her stellar performance in the cage, Tochihara received the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week award for the second time this season and the sixth time of her career. She currently ranks third in the Ivy League in goals-against average and saves percentage.

“It is always an honor to be named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week, but I think it is really a testament to how our defense played and has been playing the past couple of weeks,” Tochihara said. “Our defense has been solid, which really helps me in the cage.”

Senior attack Lizzy Drumm now joins Tochihara on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, selected by the Greater Washington Sports Alliance. At the beginning of the season, Tochihara was placed on a watch list of 48 women considered to be the best in college lacrosse. This week, Drumm was one of seven players added to the watch list midseason. Drumm said this recognition is “an honor.”

The team is excited to move forward with its undefeated Ivy League season this weekend. Last year, the Tigers handily defeated Yale (2-8, 0-3) 11-2. This year, they are preparing for what may be a tough battle. Both Drumm and Tochihara noted the importance of every game in league play but also said that they are certain of Princeton’s ability to come out victorious.

“We are expecting a competitive game,” Drumm said. “Every Ivy League team is gunning to earn a spot in the Ivy League Tournament at the end of the season, so when we come up against an opponent like Yale, we know that they will bring their best. I’m confident, though, that if we play our game and dictate the tempo, we will come out on top.”

“All Ivy games are important to us, and we are expecting to play a good Yale team,” Tochihara said. “We want to be more aggressive on the defensive end.”

After its victory against Cornell, the team is fully determined to continue its success in league play, especially after handing the Big Red some payback this year following last season’s heartbreaking 11-8 home loss.

“Our team is feeling great coming off a league win away against Cornell. We were excited to get a little revenge from last year,” Tochihara said. “We want to build off our momentum from the past two games as we go into the Yale game. This team has come a long way since our first game and will continue to grow as the season progresses. As of right now, we feel good.”

“We had a great win against Cornell,” Drumm said. “We are confident in our play, but I think that we can improve on certain aspects of our game. As a team, we try to get better each day, and we hope to continue to improve with the Yale game.”