Women’s lacrosse dominates Columbia 18–7 in road win

On Saturday, Princeton women’s lacrosse (6–6 overall, 3–2 Ivy League) earned a dominant 18–7 victory over Columbia (6–7, 0–5) in New York City. The Orange and Black set the tone early with a six-goal first quarter and maintained their lead throughout the afternoon, controlling the draw circle and constantly creating attacking threats.

Senior attacker Haven Dora, who was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week, led the way with a career-high nine points, scoring three goals and making six assists.

“We were determined to go out on Saturday and get a win, and that’s exactly what we did,” Dora wrote to The Daily Princetonian after the game. “We dominated the draw from the beginning, which gave us more possessions than Columbia and helped us set the tone and take control.”

The Tigers’ early edge showed quickly on the scoreboard, as Princeton opened the scoring right away with a free-position goal from sophomore attacker Grace Mulham in the 5th minute. However, the Lions answered less than two minutes later to tie it at 1–1 and get back even in the contest. 

After some back-and-forth play with neither side managing to convert, Princeton finally broke the scoreless run with junior midfielder Colette Quinn netting one in the 12th minute. Less than a minute later, Dora found space in front and finished to extend the Tigers’ lead, followed by two additional goals from Quinn to make it 5–1. With two seconds to go in the quarter, junior attacker Meg Morrisroe buried a free-position shot to bring the game to 6–1.

First Quarter Hat Trick!

Colette Quinn finishes off a great sequence from the Tigers and we lead, 5-1! pic.twitter.com/mAQN1mBL59

— Princeton Women's Lax (@princetonwlax) April 11, 2026

Princeton’s pace was noticeable in those opening 15 minutes. The Orange and Black were clean in transition and repeatedly turned draw controls into immediate attacking possessions. 

The Tigers continued to add on in the second quarter. Within the first two minutes, Mulham finished a feed from Morrisroe, and junior attacker Merrill Watson converted a free-position opportunity shortly after to push the Tigers’ lead to 8–1. Four minutes later, Dora converted her second of the afternoon.

“As an offensive unit we tried to capitalize on as many of those opportunities as possible by moving the ball quickly and assisting a lot of our goals,” she wrote to the ‘Prince.’ “On the defensive end, we tried to hold Columbia scoreless.”

The Lions finally broke through in the 9th minute of the second quarter, then added a pair of man-up goals in the span of just two minutes to cut Princeton’s lead to 9–4 at the halftime break. Still, the Orange and Black stayed composed, with senior goalkeeper Amelia Hughes making several saves to keep Columbia from gaining real momentum.

Fortunately for the Tigers, the Lions’ late second-quarter push was quickly replaced by a run of their own. The Tigers scored twice in the first 32 seconds of the second half, first by first-year midfielder Becca Kirschner and then from senior attacker Jami MacDonald off an assist from Dora, pushing their lead to 11–4.

From there, the third quarter became Princeton’s most complete stretch of the afternoon. Mulham and MacDonald scored man-up goals within the next few minutes to make it 13–4. Columbia pulled one back, but Morrisroe finished another assist from Dora, and junior midfielder Ella Sloan added her first goal of the night to make it 15–5. 

Dora, having already scored twice and assisted on four goals, netted in her third of the night to make it 16–5. The Orange and Black outscored Columbia 7–1 in the quarter, and the draw control disparity became even more important as it allowed the Tigers to keep the ball and force the Lions on the defensive.

The fourth quarter was quieter, but the Orange and Black still controlled the game. Sloan scored early off another assist from Dora, followed by a goal from the Lions to make it 17–6. First-year attacker Grace Farrell added a man-up goal with a little more than five minutes left in the match.

The Orange and Black did well to hold off the Lions, only conceding two late goals. And, due to the comfortable lead, Princeton also rotated goalkeepers with first-year Jackie Feldman and junior Ellie Nicklas seeing time after Hughes had spent most of the afternoon in the net.

The match finished 18–7, with Princeton having outshot Columbia 45–29 and finishing with a clear 24–12 edge in shots on goal. Morrisroe, in particular, managed 10 draw controls, having contributed greatly to the Tigers’ 17–9 advantage on them.

“Ivy league play is always competitive, so it felt good to secure another Ivy win,” Dora said. “We want to continue to build this momentum and team chemistry and confidence as we head into some tough competition against Brown and Dartmouth the next two weekends.”

Princeton returns home on Wednesday, April 15, where they will host Towson (5–8, 3–2 Coastal Athletic Association) at Sherrerd Field. The Orange and Black will look to carry the same energy.

Kai Kim is an assistant Sports editor for the ‘Prince.’ He can be reached at kaikim[at]princeton.edu.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.