After midweek setback, No. 20 women's lacrosse rallies past Cornell

No. 20 women’s lacrosse (5–5 overall, 2–1 Ivy League) split a pair of games this past week, falling 10–8 to No. 12 Stony Brook (11–2, 4–0 Coastal Athletic Association) before responding with a critical 14–12 win over Cornell (7–5, 2–2). After struggling to overcome an early deficit midweek, the Tigers showcased their resilience on Saturday, using a balanced offensive attack and key defensive stops to secure the victory over fellow Ivy League foes.

Princeton women’s lacrosse falls to Stony Brook 10–8 after early deficit

After trailing for nearly the entirety of the contest, the Tigers were unable to get a late surge and steal the win on Wednesday.

Stony Brook seized control early, jumping out to a 3–0 lead within the first four minutes, forcing Princeton onto its heels from the opening draw. While Princeton responded with senior attacker Haven Dora, who put the Tigers on the board with a free position goal six minutes into the first quarter, Stony Brook quickly struck back to extend its lead to 4–1 by the end of the period. 

Despite the early struggles, Princeton found momentum in the second quarter. Back-to-back goals from junior midfielders Colette Quinn and Ella Sloan cut the deficit to one, bringing the Tigers within one at 4–3 early in the frame. Princeton continued to generate threatening offensive opportunities, but missed chances including a free position attempt from junior attacker Meg Morrisroe prevented the Tigers from leveling the score.

The Seawolves capitalized on those missed opportunities, maintaining their narrow advantage through the remainder of the half. Morrisroe eventually converted on a player-up opportunity off an assist from Sloan to make it 5–4, but Princeton entered the break still trailing after another Stony Brook goal.

The third quarter proved to be pivotal. After a quick Stony Brook goal extended the lead, senior attacker Jami MacDonald answered to bring Princeton back within one at 6–5. However, the Tigers were unable to sustain the momentum. The Seawolves responded with a multi-goal run, capitalizing on Princeton fouls and extended possessions to get their largest lead of the game at 9–5.

Princeton continued to battle, with Quinn converting off an assist from MacDonald late in the quarter to cut the deficit to 9–6. But still, the offensive efficiency fell short despite aggressive plays including a shot off the post from Dora, which paired with costly fouls limited the Tigers’ ability to fully close the gap.

Senior goalkeeper Amelia Hughes kept Princeton within striking distance throughout the contest, recording multiple key saves across all four quarters, contributing 14 total for the Orange and Black. She denied several free position attempts and point-blank shots, preventing Stony Brook from gaining any additional offensive momentum that would’ve certainly put the game away.

Princeton mounted a final push in the fourth quarter. After Stony Brook extended its lead to 10–6, MacDonald and Morrisroe each converted free position opportunities to bring the Tigers within two. However, despite a more aggressive second half, the early deficit ultimately proved too much to overcome as the Orange and Black fell 10–8.

“Obviously the loss against Stony Brook was not what we wanted, but it was a close game,” Morrisroe told The Daily Princetonian. “Our tough out-of-conference schedule really helped us to learn a lot and bring us confidence going into Ivy League play.”

Looking to turn the page, the Tigers entered Saturday’s matchup against Cornell focused on translating lessons from the loss into a more complete performance.

 “We can’t change the past but we can determine our future. Everything that we want is still in the cards,” senior defender Abigail Roberts said.

Princeton responds with 14–12 win over Cornell

On Saturday, Princeton faced Cornell in hopes of avenging their Wednesday defeat.

After several back-and-forth possessions and defensive stops on both ends, Princeton broke the game open in the final minutes of the first quarter. A green card on Cornell with just over two minutes remaining gave the Tigers a player-up opportunity, and Morrisroe capitalized off an assist from Dora to make it 3–0 Tigers. Just over a minute later, senior midfielder Maggie Molnar added another off a feed from MacDonald to push the lead to 4–0.

“I think everyone was a lot more confident when the narrative was what can you yourself do to help us win, rather than what have we done that has made us lost so far,” Roberts told the ‘Prince’. “We steer our own ship and we have everything we need to be the team that we hope to be by the end of the season. Putting that to action and believing it was the difference between Wednesday and Saturday.”

Cornell opened the second quarter with aggression, but Hughes came up with another key save to preserve the Tigers’ lead. However, the Big Red broke through soon after, capitalizing on a Princeton turnover. Less than a minute later, a yellow card on Roberts gave Cornell a player-up opportunity which they used to cut the deficit once again. 

Princeton responded quickly, finding an answer to Cornell’s resurgent offense with a goal from Dora to extend the lead to 5–2. A green card on Cornell moments later gave the Tigers another player-up opportunity, and Dora once again facilitated the offense, finding MacDonald for a goal to push the lead to 6–2. After a short Cornell push, Princeton yet again provided a response and headed into the locker room with a 7–3 lead.

“We focused on stringing together good plays from defense and offense,” Morrisroe said. “We felt we didn’t capitalize on the offensive front on Wednesday, but today we had a really united team all together and were able to have a short memory in that aspect. We played the way we knew we could today.”

Cornell opened the third quarter with a clear charge to rewrite their story. After conceding twice to cut their lead to 7–5, the Tigers responded thanks to key contributions from MacDonald and first-year midfielder Becca Kirschner, with the former finishing a player-up opportunity off another assist from Dora to extend the lead 9–5. However, the Big Red came storming back, finding strong offensive efficiency and eventually tying the contest at ten a piece.

With the game now tied, Princeton regained control before the break. Working well under pressure, junior attacker Merrill Watson converted her first career goal off a feed from MacDonald to give the Tigers an 11-10 edge. 

Despite several late opportunities from Cornell, the Big Red were unable to capitalize, and Princeton carried a one-goal lead into the final quarter.

With an early Cornell goal in the fourth to tie the game, Princeton yet again responded quickly with man-up opportunities, marked by two more goals from MacDonald to put the Tigers up two. With her performance against Cornell, the senior totaled five goals in the contest and is now tied as the eighth all-time leading scorer in Princeton women’s lacrosse history with 144 career goals. And, despite a final push in the last minute from The Big Red, the Tigers were able to close out the game and win 14–12.

With the victory, Princeton regains momentum heading into a critical stretch of Ivy League play. The Tigers will look to build on Saturday’s performance as they prepare for upcoming matchups against the University of Pennsylvania (5–5, 3–0) and Columbia (6–5, 0–4), where consistency and execution will be key.

“We’re all accountable for our own mistakes and actions and everything on the field so that we know where we can improve to make the whole machine work better,” Roberts concluded.

Francie McKenzie is a staff Sports writer for the ‘Prince.’

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