On a rainy Saturday afternoon in Hanover, N.H., No. 5 Princeton women’s lacrosse (13–2 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) closed the regular season with a 15–11 win over the Dartmouth Big Green (9–6, 2–5).
With the win, Princeton sealed the regular season Ivy League title outright and secured their position as hosts for the upcoming Ivy League Tournament.
This season has been extremely successful for the Tigers. After dropping their first game to UVA, Princeton went on an 11-game win streak thanks to offensive efforts from junior attacker Haven Dora, senior attacker McKenzie Blake, and junior attacker Jami MacDonald and stellar goalie play from junior goalkeeper Amelia Hughes.
Against the Big Green, Dora opened play by quickly breaking the ice for the Tigers, scoring on Princeton’s first possession of the game off of a free position shot. Sophomore attacker Meg Morrisroe doubled the score shortly after, giving Princeton a 2–0 lead.
Dartmouth responded a minute later with their first goal of the game, and after back-and-forth offensive opportunities for the two teams, MacDonald was the next to tally a goal for the Tigers. Princeton led 3–2 with around four minutes left in the first quarter.
“We always go into a game and try to take charge from the very first whistle,” Dora told The Daily Princetonian. “By starting the first quarter strong, we can establish momentum early, giving us confidence and energy for the rest of the game.”
“When you go down and you find that rhythm right away, I think it just allows the whole team to settle into the game sooner,” Head Coach Jenn Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “We knew it was going to be a tough game, so to come out and bury the first few opportunities, it just helped to build that confidence.”
Scoring was not easy for either team in this matchup, as Big Green goalkeeper Gisele Todd and Hughes both earned Ivy League Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
“I think Amelia did a fantastic job this weekend,” Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “We knew she was going to have success if we gave her the looks that we wanted Dartmouth to take, so I thought Amelia saw the ball incredibly well.”
To end the quarter, Princeton was pressured defensively. Dartmouth scored two consecutive goals to tie the game at three goals a piece, earning consecutive possessions and forcing a Tiger turnover.
Princeton fought back in the second quarter, outscoring Dartmouth four to one to bring their lead to three goals heading into the half. Dora scored two of these four for the Tigers, bringing her to a hat trick less than halfway through the game and her total to 25 goals on the season.
Coming out of halftime, the Big Green were quick to put themselves back on the board, cutting the Tiger lead to two. From here, though, the Tigers scored four straight goals and dominated offensive possession throughout the rest of the quarter.
Morrisroe led Princeton, scoring two goals in under 30 seconds in the third quarter to give the Tigers the momentum. Morrisroe had a team-high five goals against Dartmouth, her second five-goal performance this season, matching her career-high from the team’s game against Penn State in March.
To close the third quarter, the Big Green scored twice to bring the score to 11–7 Tigers.
Blake scored her 66th goal of the season less than a minute into the fourth, but her goal was countered by two by the Big Green to bring the score to 12–9.
From here, a six-minute scoring drought commenced for both teams. As anticipated, high-quality goalkeeping contributed to the defensive success of both teams, with Hughes having 14 saves in the matchup, showcasing Princeton’s top-tier goalkeeping and defensive front.
With under five minutes left to play, Princeton attempted to run away with a lead, scoring goals from Morrisroe and MacDonald, but Dartmouth scored two of their own to keep the Tigers within three. Senior midfielder Sophie Whiteway sealed the game for Princeton, though, bringing the score to 15–11 by the blow of the final whistle.
Princeton will host the Ivy League Tournament this upcoming weekend, with semifinal games scheduled for May 2 and the final on May 4. As the No. 1 seed, the Tigers will take on No. 4 Brown (10–5, 4–3) in the first round.
“Heading into the Ivy tournament, we know that it’s tough to beat a team twice, especially after we just faced them last weekend,” Dora said to the ‘Prince.’ “We know that Brown will come out with even more intensity this time around.”
“Brown is a tough, competitive team,” Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “They’ve got a lot of talent across the board, and for us, it’s like, let’s just play our game plan.”
Lily Pampolina is an associate Sports editor and a staff Audience creator for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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