PU gives Virginia early exit

Tigers avenge loss, set sights on Dartmouth next

By: Justin Feil
   In preparation for the NCAA Tournament, the Princeton University women’s lacrosse team got a challenging scrimmage from a team that included eight alumni Wednesday.
   After the scrimmage, the alumni offered advice on the Tigers’ upcoming first-round matchup with Virginia, a team that won the regular-season meeting, 16-3. Some of the alumni there were part of the last Princeton team to defeat Virginia, 8-7, as an unseeded NCAA entrant to claim the national championship in 2003.
   "They talked to the team about their experience in the Final Four," said PU head coach Chris Sailer, "especially talking about the 2003 team. That was another team that no one expected could win and they were able to pull it out. That really made a difference for our team."
   Sunday, the unseeded Tigers knocked off second-seeded Virginia by an identical 8-7 score when Katie Lewis-Lamonica scored with 2:14 remaining to reach the quarterfinals in their 16th straight NCAA appearance. Princeton will play at Dartmouth 1 p.m. Saturday in yet another chance at revenge.
   The Big Green handed the Tigers their only defeat in their final 10 games of the regular season and their second-worst defeat, 15-5, on April 22. The back-to-back matchups make for a compelling path to the Final Four.
   "Some people looked at it like, they’re trying to get rid of Princeton," said PU junior Kathleen Miller. "But if I was Virginia, I would have been livid. They’re No. 2, and they have to play Princeton?!
   "We’re knocking off all the teams that took advantage of us. I think it’s fun. Every game is like a national championship matchup. We might have a few bumps but we’re a better team than we’re ranked."
   The Tigers were ranked 14th before knocking off Maryland to end their regular season. Princeton’s win over Virginia was their fourth straight since losing to Dartmouth, and 10th in 11 games since losing to Virginia in the regular season.
   "Those are two games we were absolutely humiliated," Miller said. "We decided after that, this is our season. Do we want to roll over and let it be the end or come around? It started with our Delaware game. We finally came together as unit.
   "Then we played an incredible game against Brown. Then we played Maryland and that was one of our best attack games and it led us right into (the NCAAs). We’re just peaking at the right time. We took advantage of every mistake they made. Everything came together."
   Miller’s assist to Lewis-Lamonica gave the Tigers the go-ahead goal at 3-2 in the first half. Princeton led Virginia, 7-2, with 13 minutes to play in the second half before the Cavaliers mounted a comeback. They scored the game’s next five goals to tie it, 7-7, with under five minutes to play. Lewis-Lamonica scored her fourth goal of the game unassisted, however, and the Tigers hung on with goalie Colleen O’Boyle making two saves in the final 1:43.
   "It would have nice to get out of there 7- or 8-2," Sailer said. "But you know they’re a great team and at some point they’re going to realize what’s on the line and play as hard as they can. It would have been so easy for our team or any team to fold. For us to get that next goal after it was tied was huge. And then Colleen made some big saves. That’s going to take us far."
   The win enabled Princeton to improve to 12-5 this season and snap a three-game losing streak to Virginia that began in the 2004 championship game. Princeton will now try to stop Dartmouth’s two-year winning streak against them Saturday. This year, the Big Green bolted out to a 9-0 lead before the Tigers scored a goal. In the first meeting with Virginia, the Cavaliers scored the game’s final 10 goals.
   "We were Dartmouth’s big win of the year," Miller said. "We’re huge rivals. In that game, it was kind of the same thing as the first Virginia game. Everything seemed to break down, all across the field. Possession is the key.
   "Some of the other girls view Dartmouth as our biggest rival," she added. "Some view Virginia. I think they’re neck and neck in my eyes. I want to beat them equally — Virginia, for taking away our (2004) championship. It’s a natural rivalry. The year before that, being in the final game also. With Dartmouth, it’s always, always been a huge matchup. The best games are the hard ones. That’s what every matchup with Dartmouth and UVA is. What better time to do it than the NCAA tournament?"
   Miller and the Tigers are looking to follow a similar plan to avenge a loss to Dartmouth. Possession played a big part in Princeton turning around its fortunes against Virginia.
   "We executed our game plan immediately," Miller said. "We capitalized on all their mistakes. Everything just worked well."
   It gave the Tigers a win they needed to keep alive a streak of reaching the NCAA quarterfinals, and it allowed them another chance to erase a difficult regular-season loss.
   "We can get back any pride we lost in those games," Miller said. "For our seniors, to be able to face these teams again and not have those embarrassing losses we had the last time we faced them, is big."
   Added Sailer: "Mentally, we’re in a great place heading into quarterfinals, especially with a very competitive team like Dartmouth. I was so glad when we came back. I’m really excited we have another week together and hopefully more. We played a great game and I think we can do even better."