Women's Lacrosse: Rutgers drops Tigers in overtime

Down by two goals at halftime, the Tigers clawed back. With nine minutes left in the second frame, sophomore attacker Mary-Kate Sivilli took the lead for Princeton, finding the net off an assist from junior attacker Jaci Gassaway in transition. A minute and a half afterward, Rutgers midfielder Lauren Sbrilli beat freshman netminder Annie Woehling, tying the game up for the sixth time. With five-and-a-half minutes left in the game, Sivilli scored again on a free-position shot, but a minute later Scarlet Knights midfielder Ali Steinberg responded off an assist from attacker Danielle Mascera, and the game was tied once more at 9-9.

Rutgers once again found the net with 2:20 left in the game, putting the Scarlet Knights up 10-9 when Sbrilli scored again. After a couple of chippy fouls, Gassaway was there for Princeton in the clutch, beating Rutgers goaltender Lily Kalata and tying the game up at 10-10 with 33 seconds left in the game.

The first overtime period remained defensive, with the only shot coming from Gassaway with 11 seconds left. Kalata, however, was there to stop the shot, and the game went to a second overtime. A little over a minute and a half into the second extra period, Sbrilli scored her third and most important goal of the night, sealing the sudden victory win for the Scarlet Knights.

The Tigers opened up the scoring in the second period, when Sivilli found senior attacker Barb Previ in transition seven minutes in. Previ then beat Kalata on the break. Five minutes later, midfielder Brittany Davis took back the Scarlet Knights’ margin when she scored. Three minutes later, senior midfielder Cassie Pyle narrowed Rutgers’ lead, scoring despite a foul from midfielder Stephanie Anderson. Less than four minutes later, Previ tied the game up for Princeton at 7-7.

The opening minutes saw a flurry of scoring from both sides. Anderson set up Rutgers attacker Megan Clements in the second minute, and she finished at the net. Taking advantage of a turnover by the Scarlet Knights two minutes later, Gassaway beat the goaltender off freshman attacker Erin McMunn’s assist, tying the game up at 1-1. The Scarlet Knights responded just over a minute later with a goal from Steinberg and assist from Mascera, but the Tigers tied it 54 seconds later with another goal from Gassaway.

The score held at 2-2 until the 18th minute, when sophomore midfielder Sarah Lloyd found the back of the net, giving Princeton its first lead of the game, 3-2. The margin could have been greater for the Tigers, but Kalata held steady in goal, saving two free-position shots. Davis scored in the next minute off another Mascera assist, and in the 23rd minute Steinberg scored again off a free-position shot, giving Rutgers the lead, 4-3. A minute later, Gassaway forced a turnover by Rutgers midfielder Sarah Mahon. She then fed Pyle for the score, and the game was tied once more at 4-4.

The Scarlet Knights controlled the remainder of the half, however, with Clements scoring again. With less than two minutes left in the frame, attacker Lindsey Watts scored during a free position, and Rutgers had a 6-4 lead going into the break.

Gassaway notched three goals and two assists less than a week after leading the Tigers with seven points in a rout of Villanova in the team’s season opener.

Princeton will have to bounce back from the tough loss and stay sharp this weekend, as it hosts fifth-ranked Duke at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday.