Tiger lacrosse proves to be best again
By: Justin Feil
Chris Sailer laughed when asked if the Princeton women’s lacrosse team had any doubts during its 8-7 national championship overtime win over Virginia on Sunday.
"None," said the Tiger head coach. She laughed knowing that Princeton hadn’t made its second straight national title easy.
The Tigers were behind all game to the Cavaliers, who had earlier handed them their worst loss of the season, 13-8. Every time Princeton scored to pull closer, or tie it, Virginia pulled right back ahead. The game was tied only twice after the opening draw control, and Princeton had only one lead the last.
"The only time it counts if you’re ahead is at the end of the game," Sailer said. "It shows the character of the team (to rally), how hard they worked to win."
The Tigers, true to their nature this season, never let up the pressure after a shaky start had them behind, 3-0.
"This team had a lot of heart," Sailer said. "They’re definitely a never-give-up team. We were a not-frazzled team. The Ohio State game (in the quarterfinals) was neck and neck and they didn’t get frazzled. In the Loyola game (in the Tigers’ 5-3 semifinal win Friday), it was a physical game and they didn’t get rattled.
"This team followed game plans well. If we wanted to slow it down they could, if we wanted to speed it up, we could. And they were really conditioned well. They have good speed and we have kids who make big plays."
Princeton needed a couple of big plays just to get into overtime. Tantalizingly in the final five minutes, the Tigers would steal the ball only to have Virginia take it right back.
"That was frustrating," Sailer said. "It was good play after good play, but we couldn’t capitalize."
Things looked darkest for the Tigers as Virginia maintained possession with less than three minutes to play. But then Alex Fiore stripped the ball from the Cavaliers’ Lauren Aumiller with 1:51 left in regulation. That started a transition that Whitney Miller finished at the other end with 1:37 left to make it 7-7.
Then, when the Princeton defense held over the final minute of regulation and the first overtime, the Tigers won the draw control in the second three-minute overtime and Theresa Sherry’s goal with 1:29 left was all they would need when they won the ensuing draw control as well.
"When we found Whitney and she fired it home, from that point we felt confident," Sailer said. "Alex got two key draw controls, and that was important to run out the clock."
And unlike Virginia, Princeton was able to stall out the waning minute and a half.
"That’s something we’ve done well in the end of games lately," Sailer said. "Once we got the ball, I felt confident."
The Tigers become just the second team in NCAA women’s lacrosse history to win back-to-back titles or better. Maryland won seven consecutive championships. It was the third national title in six tries for a Sailer-coached Princeton team, and came a year after the Tigers lost seven valuable seniors.
"There is a lot more parity now," said Sailer, who graduates six seniors, five who played considerably, this year. "There are a lot of teams capable of winning it all including us. This year was a lot different.
"Last year, we were pretty much good all the way through. This year, the team had to come together (after a 1-3 start). They had to gel. There were players that had to fill new roles. It just happened that by the end of the season, our chemistry was really strong. And we had a couple of big wins that boosted our confidence."
Its loss to Yale on April 12 is the only loss in the last 16 games. Since then, Princeton was able to top Dartmouth and Maryland in matchups with two eventual NCAA participants. Once in the tournament, the Tigers beat Le Moyne and Ohio State before avenging one of its early-season losses to Loyola on Friday.
In Friday’s 5-3 Final Four win over Loyola, Elizabeth Pillion had two goals to key the Tigers, whose defense limited the Greyhounds to two shots in the second half. That earned Princeton a rematch with Virginia, one that didn’t look good after a nervous Tiger start.
"It looked a little hairy in those first 10 minutes," Sailer said. "They got off to a 3-0 start, and we were just back on our heels. We called time out and settled down and started attacking on offense. I thought our defense was playing really well. We emphasize possession all the time. At halftime, we emphasized aggressiveness."
It was the Princeton seniors who provided many of the heroics. Hannah Foster, a former walk-on, and Rachael Becker, a candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy that goes to the nation’s top player, anchored a Princeton defense that was incredible in the Final Four.
Fiore caused the huge turnover at the end of the game, Whitney Miller had the game-tying goal and Sarah Small assisted the two goals that gave Princeton its first tie at 6-6 in the second half.
"Our seniors last year were the story of the season," Sailer said. "This class was different but equally inspirational for this team. Last year, a lot of them started three or four years.
"This group was different. Hannah Foster was a walk-on who didn’t start until her last year. Alex Fiore didn’t start until last year and she’s been great all year. Sarah Small, she started in the beginning and then she didn’t, but she came on and had a fantastic second half for us. Whitney and Rachael have been four-year starters. It really was a great mix."
Princeton also had senior Kelly Sosa, who also played for the Tiger soccer team, can came out to back Sarah Kolodner in goal. It’s a class whose absence will be felt again next season as Princeton shoots for a third straight national championship.
"They were a quieter group," Sailer said. "They had what it takes though. They’re all fabulous players in their own right. All of them played really big roles in the Final Four."

