So far, it’s been a big year for women’s lacrosse in the Ivy League.
At the end of the regular season, five of the eight Ivy League teams sit in the top 25 national rankings, outnumbering the total number of teams eligible for the Ivy tournament itself.
“Because the Ivy League has so many teams in the top 25, conference play is incredibly challenging,” junior attacker Haven Dora told The Daily Princetonian. “Every game is intense with a high level of competition and emotion.”
As the No. 1 seed, Princeton women’s lacrosse (13–2 overall, 6–1 Ivy League) will take on fourth-seeded Brown (10–5, 4–3) in the semifinals of the Ivy League Tournament this Friday, May 2, 4 p.m. In the second semifinal matchup, No. 2 Yale (12–3, 5–2) will face No. 3 Penn (10–5, 5–2) at 7:30 p.m.
Despite sitting at No. 24 nationally, Harvard (9–6, 3–4) missed the mark for a spot in the Ivy League Tournament, having lost to both Princeton and Yale during the regular season.
As the top seed, the Tigers will host the tournament at their home, Sherrerd Field. Princeton last hosted the tournament in 2022, in which they defeated Yale in the championship to secure their seventh-straight Ivy League title. After a two-year hiatus from titles, the Tigers look to rise to the challenge and restore their former glory.
“Being the one seed is where we want to be, but we know that means every team is going to compete even harder and wants to beat us that much more,” Dora told the ‘Prince.’
Preparing for Battle
During the regular season, Princeton narrowly defeated Brown by a score of 15–13 en route to clinching their Ivy League conference title. In the matchup, Princeton had an uncharacteristicly slow offensive start and trailed the Bears in the opening quarter.
Coming into the postseason, the Tigers are prepared to make adjustments in order to beat the Bears for a second time.
“It’s going to be a tough game against Brown,” Head Coach Jenn Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “We’ll focus on our execution of our game plan and the details at a really high level, doing the simple things right.”
“Heading into the Ivy League tournament, we know that it is tough to beat a team twice, especially when we just faced [Brown] last weekend,” Dora added. “We know Brown will come out with even more intensity this time around.”
Going into Friday, the Tigers are on a two-game winning streak, and the Bears are on a two-game losing streak. Not only will Brown be looking to snap this pattern, but they will be looking to upset the tournament hosts.
“We know that Brown will come out with even more intensity this time around,” Dora told the ‘Prince.’ “They do not want to lose to us again, and we are expecting them to fight hard and compete every minute.”
This season, Brown has found success in outscoring their opponents in the second half. The Bears are familiar with coming back from early deficits and stealing momentum late in the game. For the Tigers, it will be important not only to build an early lead but to hold this lead as Brown adjusts to the game.
For the Tigers, maintaining the offensive efficiency they’ve boasted all year will be key. Princeton ranks fourth in the nation in shots per game, and senior attacker McKenzie Blake ranks fourth in goals scored per game. A standout performance by Blake, along with teammates like Dora and junior attacker Jami MacDonald, will be essential to adding points to the board for Princeton.
“I think the last few games we’ve played against some man defenses from our opponents, and it’s really great that our offense has already had looks at man defenses [like theirs],” Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “And you know, after that, we’ll handle what comes our way.”
Behind the Scenes for the Tigers
Entering the postseason, Ivy League awards were recently released. For the Tigers, Blake was a unanimous selection for Ivy League Attacker of the Year, and Cook and her staff were named Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year.
For Cook, much of the Tigers’ success is credited to the support of her coaching squad.
“They don’t get many shoutouts, but I just think that [associate head coach] Kerrin Maurer and [assistant coach] Maggie Brown on the offensive side of the ball have just done so well this spring,” Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “Then you’ve got [assistant coach] Molly Dougherty, who is really looking at our goalies and the defense.”
Cook and her team led Princeton to their 11-game win streak this season and their success on both ends of the ball. The Tigers are ranked nationally on both offense and defense, 10th overall in scoring offense, and fourth in the country in clearing percentage.
“Our coaching staff is working so incredibly hard on coming up with different game plans,” Cook said to the ‘Prince.’ “I always joke that I have the best coaches in Division I, and I think they deserve a shoutout.”
Cook and her staff will look to prepare the team for an intense matchup against Brown. With a win, Princeton is predicted to be an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
“You really gotta worry about what’s right in front of you,” Cook told the ‘Prince.’ “Right now, we know that’s Brown on Friday, and it’s going to be a tough game.”
“We have to stay focused and disciplined in our game plan, play together as one unit, and execute under pressure,” Dora concluded.
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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